Tricky
by Jezzaanne
Summary: She was the Trickster of the Noah's Ark Circus until her family were ripped from her grasp. With her and one surviving member, she falls into the twisted life of a certain Earl Phantomhive and his Demonic Butler. With a secret of her own, Eloise must cooperate with her greatest enemy to save the young Earl's life. Anime based with Circus Characters. OC orientated, Friendship.
1. Setting Up

**Hi everyone... Another plot bunny and yet another Fandom that is getting twisted... :| **

**Its Black Butler's turn and yes, this story will be following the MANGA... I was fairly disappointed when i realised that they never intended to use the Noah's Ark Circus Arc in the anime. :(**

**But Im using my own story :) But with an OC.. I know some ppl dont like OC's but I hope my character appeases :)**

**As always... Pretty please leave a review and feedback is greatly appreciated :D**

**Peace Out!**

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><p>'Crack'<p>

The thunder roared overhead and as the heavens split, the rain bucketed down and drenched all those preparing and setting up their circus.

A huge gust of wind swept through the poles and the tents, ripping the pegs from the mud and there was a cry of disdain from one very unhappy Illusionist.

"Why? Why must we do this while it's raining?"

The silver pegs fell in the mud some distance away and there was a cry of shock, followed by a wobbly cry and a large 'splat' as a body fell in the muck as well. There was a wail of protest and through the lightning strikes across the sky, a young woman with mud streaked brunette hair heaved herself to her feet and grabbed hold of a flailing rope and fell back to her knees and groped the mud for a silver tent peg.

"Hang on Ell"

A man's voice broke through the darkness and the rain and a large skeletal type hand reached down and enveloped the Illusionists hand and brandished a much needed peg and stabbed it into the mud. One side of the tent was pegged down and the man's voice said "Why did you try and pitch the Big Top all by yourself Ell?"

Exasperated violet eyes met murky grey and the Illusionist whimpered, "The quicker we got this done, the quicker we could have gotten out of this horrible weather. Nobody ever said that London was such a dirty, yucky place."

The skeleton hand tightened around the woman's and the soft voice broke out, "Listen Ell, a fair lady like yourself shouldn't be out in the rain and mud trying to pitch the tent by herself. Leave this for the men to do and get your pretty little self back to your tent and cleaned up."

A small smile graced the Illusionists lips and a soft giggle made it past her chattering teeth and she said, "As long as I don't get into trouble for slacking off."

The red haired man beside her pulled her to her feet and he said with a cheeky smile "Don't worry yourself Ell, hurry along to your tent. Can't let my favourite girl get sick now can I?"

The Illusionist nodded and through soaked, mud ridden clothes; the young woman let a sigh escape her lips and in a flurry of shadows, she disappeared through the mass of tent poles and equipment. A light from a fleeting lightning bolt revealed a young woman's body twist and grow smaller and the lithe form of a cat landed upon a pole connecting the tents and scurried through the rain for a particular destination.

Large violet eyes gleamed through the darkness and at the entrance of the 'would be' entrance to the 'Noah's Ark Circus', several large crates sat there silently.

The Illusionist didn't realise that these crates sitting there would be the downfall of everything she knew. Knowing no better, the cat jumped away from the poles and disappeared into the folds of a large, decorative tent.


	2. The Stranger

**Chapter 2 Everyone.. This is following the Manga quite closely and I am trying not to stray to far from the plot at the moment. :) I have things planned out until the end of the Circus Arc, depends on how popular this gets :)**

**This story is rated T for now but rating may be bumped up to M in later chapters**

**ENJOY**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

1 WEEK LATER

"Eloise isn't in her tent!"

The impatient voice of a larger, bustier woman with dark, curly hair and menacing red eyes wrenched aside the flap to the Illusionists tent and walked out with her hands on her hips. "Honestly, where can that girl disappear to? _Right before a show is about to start?"_

The woman's name was Beast.

She was the Animal Tamer for the renowned Noah's Ark Circus, her babies were her tigers. Savage beasts to those outside of the Circus family. Clad in her leather, Tamer attire; Beast was sent by the Ringleader of the Circus, The Joker to find one tricky Illusionist by the name of Eloise.

Beast gazed around the small clearing at the other members of the Circus with a sharp gaze and a younger boy flicking a knife into a bullseye looked up and shrugged. "I dunno where she is Sis, I haven't seen her since this morning, said something about seeing Joker before she disappeared."

Beast sighed, running a finger through her mane of luscious black curls and moaned "That girl is going to be the end of me. Trickster or not, she's starting to get on my nerves when she does this."

From beside the boy with the knife, an innocent girl with honey gold locks smiled. "Dagger's right Beast, but you can't contain Eloise. Knowing her, she's probably watching us right now; or with Joker one or another. Don't stress about her, she will turn up when her act is on tonight."

The boy, Dagger smiled up at Beast with a cheeky grin "C'mon Sis, Wendy's right, now give me a smile."

Beast couldn't help but smile at the younger members of the Circus and she dropped her arms and said "If you catch the cat, tell her to go see Joker; if she hasn't already. I have more important things to be worrying about." She looked at her Circus family before raising her voice "Another thing, _Why aren't you guys READY?"_

She brandished her whip and watched everybody scramble to their feet as she cracked it "I expect a hundred and ten per cent tonight. If not, you all will be on kitchen duty!"

She only chuckled when everybody stopped slacking and cleared from the area.

The cat jumped from the building and raced along the gutter track and leap neatly from one building to the other. It kept to the shadows, avoiding the murky grey light from the smog overhanging London.

_I hate this place_

The buildings began to thin out and the Cat was able to jump from a roof to a tree and jump down onto a dirt path and sprint all the way to the Circus. She knew that she would have started to worry Beast but nobody else would have cared about her absence.

Eloise ran past another, unusual crate behind the Circus as she entered. She didn't have time to sate her suspicion and curiousity. She jumped the fence and into the line of tents that the members resided in before she heard her name being called.

"Eloise!"

The Cat perked her head at her name and she looked up to see the Marksman, Dagger playing with several of his knives.

"Beast said if we found you and you haven't seen Joker; go see Joker." He sent the cat a cocky smile and before he could say anything else, the Cat disappeared and raced around the tent, her shape already changing.

"You weren't beginning to worry were you?"

The Illusionist, Eloise pulled the tent flap aside and revealed a dazzling row of sharp teeth, her gleaming violet eyes glinting mischievously. She lifted her hands and tried to de-tangle her messy tangle of dark brown hair.

In front of her, the Joker smiled at her reflection in his mirror; trying to pin back his wild red spikes. "I don't worry about you princess" he smirked "you always come back home."

Eloise pouted and picked up one of the Jokers juggling balls and threw it at him.

The Ringleader deftly caught it with his skeletal hand and let it drop to the floor and went back to pinning his hair.

Eloise walked around the Jokers tent admiring the many trinkets the young man had lying around. After a moment, she straightened up and cocked her head to the side and asked innocently "What did you want to see me for Joker?"

She watched the red-heads expression harden somewhat in his mirror as he pinned the last spike back. Then he got up, turned around and walked up to Eloise, placing his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at the Jokers face, admiring the porcelain face and the tear drop tattoo underneath his left eye.

"You would stick with us no matter what?" His grey eyes were hard and serious and Eloise found herself somewhat disconcerted as she replied "O-Of course, why would you ask a question like that? The Circus is my family."

Joker pulled back gazing at the floor and Eloise put her finger under his chin and made him look back at her and said "Not only am I doing this for you and the others, but for Father and the others in the workhouse."

She smiled reassuringly tapping her china like hand against Jokers as he gazed down to her prosthetic foot as well. "Like it or not, we are in this together." Joker agreed before he stepped back smirking and Eloise reached forward and fixed up his large yellow bow.

"I'll get into my costume and I will be ready for my act. You go out there and knock them dead my Prince."

Eloise danced from the tent just as she heard Joker "I sure will Princess."

The Cat sat on the tree branch and watched the crowd come pouring in.

Her large violet eyes watched two certain people enter the tent and felt an eerie feeling run up her spine.

_Something wasn't right_

The lights blared to life and Joker raised his arms out and addressed the audience with his captivating Ringleader voice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls of all ages."

He raised his head and met the audience with sparking grey gaze and from each of his sleeve he pulled out three juggling balls and began to expertly juggle them while introducing the circus.

"Welcome to the Noah's Ark Circus. My name is Joker if you'll look here…"

Joker threw up his balls and let them drop onto his head, eliciting a laugh from the audience. He smiled, loving the attention before he gestured out his arms to the rest of the Circus members behind him.

"The whole circus is jostling for a chance to give you a fun show."

His gaze went dark and the lights dimmed, and his voice boomed throughout the Big Top.

"_Here we go"_

"With one shot from the fire-eating man; the show of the century begins."

From behind the Joker, Jumbo; living up to his name and profession. He raised a pole and a huge plume of fire erupted from his mouth. It lit up the whole tent and there was a collective gasp from the crowd.

The lights came back on and Joker moved aside and gestured up and shouted "Next is our gasp-inducing 'Flying Blanco'."

The twins Peter and Wendy launched from the side platforms and jumped from the overhanging chandeliers and onto the trapezes. They swung over the crowd in their cheeky little monkey acts and Joker finished their act and went onto Dagger's death defying marksmanship on his wheel of death.

After Dagger, Joker made the lights go up where the trapezes turned into a large tightrope across the top of the Big Top "Now for our tightrope walker, our beautiful Doll and her tricks of the tightrope."

The audience was captivated by the tightrope and Joker only smiled when he gave the signal and the pink clad tightrope walker launched herself from the tightrope. Somewhere in the audience, a woman screamed and as Doll was about to hit the ground, a plume of purple smoke surrounded her.

Then in the middle of the Big Top, Doll disappeared and a young woman clad in purple and black raised her arms and bowed as the audience broke into applause.

"Now for our princess" the Joker shouted "our one and only Trickster."

Trickster smiled her dazzling smile and began her show of illusions, mystifying the crowd with her trickery. She revelled in the satisfaction that followed after a successful act and at the end of her part. She sent out her wispy, magical snakes that signalled the start of Snake's act.

"Next" the Joker introduced "Is our rare snake/human half-breed. Our snake-man's dance."

Snake appeared in all of his half snake glory, people gasping at his porcelain body tainted with the grey/green tinge of snake scales.

After Snake, Joker bowed and from the shadows; Trickster appeared behind him and sent out an illusion, making Joker appear bigger than what he really was as he shouted. "And finally, our star of the show, our wild animal tamer!"

There were claps from the audience and the spotlight fell upon the Joker and Beast, Trickster leaving no proof that she was ever there.

"For this act" the Joker said, gesturing over the whole crowd "We'd like a volunteer from the audience."

The tent went dark for a split second, before the spotlight gleamed back to life and the Joker pointed at a random person in the seats. The light fell upon a dark man in black and the Joker smiled, his skeletal hand pointing to him.

"That really distinguished looking man in the tailcoat! Please step onto the stage."

Trickster misted onto the seats beside the man in black earning some excited whispers from the people around them and said to the man with a smile gracing her lips. "Joker has chosen you Mister, please feel honoured."

She wrapped her lithe fingers around the man's arm and led him down the stairs and onto the stage."

"_Now come on down!"_

Trickster let a giggle escape her as she disappeared in a plume of glittery purple and she manifested back in the shadows. Joker took over and gestured to a podium and said to the man; "Now Sir, could you lay down over here."

_Ah!_

Everybody froze and the deadpanned, shocked look on Jokers face was enough to make everybody laugh if they weren't in a situation that shocked most. Trickster nearly fell over in shock when she saw the man kneel down in front of Betty, one of Beast's treasured tigers and place one gloved hand on each side of her furry head.

"Such round eyes" he cooed his large crimson eyes glittering with love and adoration. "I've never seen such soft, vividly striped ears; _how lovely_."

Joker gazed at Beast then to Trickster, who shrugged her shoulders helplessly before he turned back to the odd man in black who cooed to the tiger again. "What's this? It seems that your claws have grown a bit too long to not be groomed. Your paw pads, too, are plump and exceedingly charming."

Everybody was stunned into silence and then a horrified squeak was heard from one Trickster as the tiger lurched forward and enveloped the man's head in her mouth.

Beast was quick to act, her voice horrified as she shouted brandishing her whip; "BETTY! LET HIM GO."

She was about to crack her whip over Betty but to further everybody's shock, the man _caught _Beast's whip saying in a dark voice "She didn't do anything wrong, in the face of such loveliness, I was unintentionally rude and besides that…"

The man sent a sharp, red gaze to Beast and bought the whip close to his face "If you simply recklessly swing the whip, _you'll never be able to train her." _

Beast gave the stranger such a hateful glare and at that moment, with a savage snarl. Betty lunged forward and bit the back of the strangers head ready to rip his head from his shoulders. People inside the tent began to scream and the man said lovingly "My, my; what a tomboy."

People got up from their seats and women continued to scream and in turn made children cry from the noise.

Trickster nearly fainted from the sight in front of her; she expected the body to fall and streams of blood to fall from Betty's fangs. But it never happened.

Beast sprang into action and cracked her whip which caused Betty to jump back and left the stranger kneeling there; _unscathed_.

No blood, Nothing.

Trickster raced over the ring into the clearing and ran to Joker and Beast and lost sight of the dark man in the crowd.

"Well that was a failure." Joker sighed and Trickster hissed "Joker, we have to find that man, he could be seriously hurt."

She pulled on his arm and Joker looked down at her "Alright Ell, we will find him and take him to the doctor." He started to move out of the ring, ordering Beast "Get Betty out of here and gather the others, we will back later."

Joker pulled Trickster from the tent in search of the dark stranger who had copped a maul from Betty and simply walked away. Finally, Trickster caught sight of the familiar head and tugged on Joker's arm.

"There he is!"

Joker adjusted his large purple cape and shouted "There you are! Hold on a sec."

The man stopped and Trickster saw that he was in the company of a young boy dressed elegantly in a navy cape and top hat. Judging by his stance and posture, _he wasn't very happy_.

"You in the tailcoat" Joker shouted running forward and dragging Trickster along behind him. They dodged through the crowds of people and Joker halted up in front of the pair and Trickster noticed the boy kept his face hidden in the shadows.

"I'm really sorry for earlier" the Joker started stupidly but before he could finish his apology, the stranger bowed slightly and said "No please accept my apologies instead."

Joker blinked slightly shocked and he stuttered pathetically "I-I was shocked 'cause you suddenly got so close to the tiger." He went to go say something more but Trickster beat him to the punch and peeked around Jokers checkered cape; "You ok from the bite?"

Joker smiled at her before he raised his skeletal hand out in a friendly gesture and offered "Anyways we've got us a special doctor here, and I was thinkin' he should check you out." Joker smiled and put an arm around Trickster and gazed at the dark stranger "C'mon round to the back."

The man cocked his head and flashed a dazzling smile at Trickster before sending a gaze to Joker "In that case, I will."

Satisfied at getting his way, Joker swung Trickster around and looping his arm through hers they started to stride through the tents. "Righty" he announced "This way."

Trickster looked up at Joker and smiled at him as they strode through the tents, ignoring the dark glares they were both getting for leading a stranger in their midst.

Joker turned back to the stranger and smiled apologetically "Sorry it's so dirty, watch yer step." Trickster suddenly halted and the sudden jolt made Joker look up and he held up his skeleton hand up in greeting "Oh Snake." A smile covered his whole face and he pointed to a large tent "Is Doc in the first aid tent?"

Snake looked up through his silver bangs and Joker jumped back as a snakes tail whipped out in front of him and the red head smiled briefly "Oops" he chuckled running his fingers through his hair, "He's on business huh?"

"Huh?"

The stranger stopped and Trickster turned and looked to see Peter and Wendy still clad in their outfits sitting atop a large barrel. Wendy kicked her feet out and grinned prettily and Peter laughed "Is that the guy that got bit by the tiger?"

He gazed at his sister then back to the black clad man and Trickster and chuckled "It really is, the stupid guy?"

Wendy giggled and Joker pulled Trickster away from the Trapeze children and pulled open the tent flap and announced loudly.

"Ah there he is, DOC."

A man with curly black hair and spectacles looked up from the marksman Dagger and turned around and fixed up his wheelchair and looked at Joker enquiringly. "Hey Joker, is there something wrong with your arm again?"

Joker smiled and shook his head "No today's nothing T'do with me."

Doc looked to Trickster who partially hid behind Jokers purple cape and he smiled "Ah, Princess Eloise, do you have to see me today?" His spectacles gleamed and Trickster shook her jewelled adorned head and buried her face in Jokers purple cape.

Joker reached around and grasped Trickster to him protectively and Dagger looked around and was quick to change the subject.

"I was wondering who that was, but isn't it the man whose head was bitten by Betty?"

Dagger jumped back, eyes widening in shock when Doc threw himself back in the wheelchair and in a dramatic gesture threw his hands up.

"BY BETTY?"

He threw back his hands and gazed at the black stranger "That's terrible! We have to get to the medical office quickly."

Joker cast a sweat drop gaze to Trickster who merely shrugged her shoulders and they looked back when the doctor peered at the stranger with a questioning gaze and his eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

"Were you really bitten by a tiger?"

He gazed at him again and bit the side of his lip "I can't find any marks on you at all."

The stranger smiled and stars seemed to appear in his eyes. "It was merely a play bite."

Joker, Trickster and Dagger looked at each other with sweat drops and Trickster muttered under her breath "Play-Bite?"

Doc sat back and sighed "Well if it's not serious, then we don't have to head over there."

Joker shook his head and stepped forward, leaving Trickster with Dagger a little way behind and went up to the Butler like man and put his prosthetic hand to his chest.

"It's really great yer ok" he drawled "If I'd let a customer get hurt, the Ringleader would have my skin."

The man looked up at the Joker with a suspicious glint in his eyes as he asked "You're not the Ringleader?"

Dagger and Trickster went forward and Joker wrapped his arm around Trickster and put his skeleton hand on Dagger's shoulder and smiled broadly "I'm bit like a hired shop-manager; the Ringleader is a different scary guy."

Trickster's smile faltered and Dagger let a nervous laugh escape him "Err, You say that kinda thing, he'll be mad later, Boss." Joker's smile didn't falter and Trickster let a nervous chuckle escape her and she cringed away under the glare of the Doctor and the red gaze of the stranger sitting at the table.

She jumped when she heard footsteps outside and the flap to the tent lifted up and the curly black hair of Beast appeared. She stepped in, her burgundy eyes gleaming and she said in a somewhat pleading voice.

"Doctor, I was wondering if you could look at my leg…?"

Dagger's reaction was instantaneous; he pulled away from Joker and Trickster and fell to one knee holding out his arm. His whole face lit up in adoration and his voice rang out "Big Sis!"

Beast's reaction included ignoring Dagger and her gaze sparked angrily and she shouted to the dark stranger still seated at the Doctor's desk.

"YOU!"

She stalked forward as Dagger broke out into a poem

"_That I would be feeling bad in the same place as Big Sis."_

"…_Iyaaa~~~in this, too, we're connected by the red string of fa…"_

He stopped dead when Beast walked right past him and his face dropped and he turned around as Beast thrust her finger out and pointed it to the man. "You're that mad gentleman from earlier why are you here?"

Her face was livid and her hair was trembling from the anger that pulsed throughout her body. "Thanks to you the show was…"

"BEAST"

Beast stopped and flinched back and sent her gaze to the doctor who glared at her past his spectacles and he said in a firm, yet somewhat dangerous voice. "What are you saying to our guest? In this case, if you weren't able to control Betty, wasn't that your own carelessness?"

Beast let her arms fall and she sputtered to the Doctor "B-But he carelessly…" her argument to defend herself failed as Doc banged his hand against his desk and he said in a raised voice. "There are no buts about it! You're a pro aren't you?"

Before Doc could yell at Beast anymore, Trickster lurched forward with Joker and Dagger and the three pushed their faces up together in front of the Doctor and all grinned three big, goofy grins. "Now, Now Doc" Joker grinned and Trickster added "We can't yell in front of the customer."

Doc shook his head and leant back in his wheelchair looking exhausted and he said in an annoyed huff; "After this, Beast must discipline Betty again!"

He said this as a statement and Beast huffed, blowing a stray piece of her headband away from her face _"Fine!" _

Doc closed his eyes and folded his hands and said in a 'final' tone "Right then, let me see the prosthetic."

Trickster jumped back slightly when the stranger looked up through his ebony bangs and uttered in a somewhat shocked voice "Pros-thetic."

He sent a gaze up to her and feeling suddenly unnerved she stepped back hiding her crimson cheeks and she felt the reassuring presence of Joker behind her as he brandished his cane and bowing slightly as the stranger started to get up from his seat.

"There is a bit of a reason behind this circus."

He sent a gaze back to Beast who had seated herself in the seat beside Doc's desk and he reached out and was quick to pull down her stocking and reveal her leg chopped off at the knee and the start of the prosthetic.

"Folks with some sorta problem gather together here." Joker drawled, trying to explain. "I'm missing an arm too, but thanks to Doc I got this." He held out his skeleton hand and then bought Trickster forward.

"Ell, I mean, Trickster is missing part of her hand and her leg. She really is the Princess around these parts. She continues to defy our doubts every day."

He held out the brunettes hand and showed the stranger where her hand was cut in half and the shine of the china like prosthetic was revealed through her lacy black glove. She wiggled her fingers and Joker kissed her hand before beaming back at the stranger; "Pretty cool huh?"

Doc shook his head and he snapped "It's because you use that hand that it goes bad so quickly. It makes me want to rearrange your whole body too." The Joker laughed awkwardly and Trickster smiled and said in her sing song voice, "Come on, and lighten up. We are in a circus. We are performers so of course we are going to put strain on our fake limbs."

The dark stranger looked past Trickster and to the Doctor and asked enquiringly "You make the prosthetics for this circus?"

Doc smiled "Yep, that's right." He tinkered with Beast's leg with his multitude of handy tools. "Its hard work, since I do everything from the carving onwards."

The red eyes stranger leant over Doc's shoulder as he worked on Beast's leg and he continued to ask questions. "Carving? As in there wooden?"

Doc shook his head and fixed up his glasses "Nope Ceramic."

The look on the guys face was unfathomable and he more so whispered to himself "Ceramic." He grabbed Beast's leg and held it out for the man to look at it and he continued "Well I say ceramic but they are made of special materials that make them light and durable."

The man reached out and caressed Beast's fake leg and he commented "I see, it also feels good" He admired it a little before Doc added "So that they move smoothly, I use ball-jointed doll parts." The stranger nodded and sent a smile to Doc, "This is truly finely made." Doc smiled "Ah?"

The stranger paused and kept a firm hold on Beasts leg and Trickster realised what he was doing right away and held out her hand ready to stop as the man muttered "This hallmark is…"

Trickster let a little 'eep' escape her as Beast roared.

"What're you doing you PERVERT!"

She kicked out her leg and the man dodged away with amazing reflexes and he sat back as Beast glared at him lividly and he said with a small smirk gracing his pale white face.

"I've never seen someone so shameless react so modestly so…"

The whole room went dead silent that you could have heard a pin drop before Beast shouted as savagely "YOU BASTARD!" she got up and went to go hit the man and Doc was the one to jump up and shout "HEY! Hey; STOP IT Beast, you're up against a customer!" He sent a frantic gaze to the three dazed circus people behind him and yelled "You guys help me stop…"

As Beast lunged for the man, there was a hysterical screech from Dagger. He pointed to the man and he shouted angrily "YOOOUUUU! Touching my big Sis' silky, transparent skin; even-even" he sputtered off in anger before his face went red and from his brightly checkered jacket he whipped out several of his daggers.

He threw them expertly at the man; all would fatally accurate if they made their mark on the perverted stranger.

Trickster let a squeak escape her and she grabbed Joker and buried her head in his cape as he went to jump forward to stop the enraged Dagger.

"EVEN THOUGH I HAVENT TOUCHED IT" Dagger shouted angrily.

All three of his knives missed as the stranger _flipped _over the knives and said in a cocky voice "Even though I wasn't truly touching her skin."

He jumped up and landed neatly on the lines criss-crossing across the top of the tent and put his gloved hand to his chest and smiled "Somehow, it seems as though I might as well have been."

Dagger scowled up at the man and Doc wheeled up to him and said desperately "Dagger, stop! At this rate the tent will…" Doc gazed to Trickster and demanded "Get over here and help him, he listens to you."

Trickster hesitated under Doc's command and Dagger shouted anyway "More important than the tent." He flicked out his hands and three knives appeared on each hand and he flung them at the man shouting fiercely "SIS' PURITY."

"Dagger" Trickster begged running to him "Please stop this, there isn't a need to…" before she reached Dagger and grabbed his arm, they all stopped dead in their tracks when the man jumped from the wires and caught all of Dagger's knives neatly in between his fingers.

"No way!" Trickster breathed sending a disbelieving glare to her comrade before sending one to Joker whose jaw dropped in shock. He gazed back to her and suddenly fumbled and dropped his cane.

As the three stood dumbfounded Beast strode forward 'tsking' in hate before she brandished her whip and cracked it loudly, screeching angrily "Don't get carried away!" she went to go hit the stranger and reacting quickly Joker stepped forward.

Trickster appeared beside him, sending Beast a dark glare as Joker gazed at her warningly. He had stopped her whip with his cane and Trickster magicked Beast's whip away and instantly; his cane became a bouquet of flowers and the warning glance fell from his face.

Instead, a smile spread across it and Trickster pushed her face against Jokers and Beast looked at them quizzically.

"Here" Joker smiled, handing Beast the flowers. Trickster grinned before she sang "Okay, ookaayy. That's enough." From behind them, Dagger looked at their backs and mumbled "Boss?" and Doc almost shrieked "Why didn't you stop them sooner?"

Joker left Trickster alone for a moment to go up to Beast and caress his hand down her prosthetic leg and he leant forward on her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "This _pretty _leg… it's not like I can understand wanting to touch it."

Trickster couldn't help but narrow her eyes at the sight before her and dig her nails into her palm biting back the jealousy. She wasn't a spiteful person and she really did like Beast; but everybody knew that Joker and Trickster had eyes for each other. She bit her tongue when she saw the blush riding up Beast's cheeks at Jokers close proximity and turned her head to the side.

Her large violet eyes met the dark red ones of the strangers as he jumped from the wires and ropes and landed neatly on two feet, still holding all of Dagger's knives. He sent her a malicious, scrutiny gaze which made her cringe back and hide behind her head decorations.

_There was something about him…_

She heard Joker smile into Beast's wild black curls, "Use these flowers to cheer up." And then she heard the stranger walk to Dagger and hand back his knives. "I'm returning these" he said courteously and as he turned to leave; Joker halted him up.

"You have some good reflexes" he commented. He went to stride forward but he was stopped when the stranger turned to him and looked at him darkly.

Joker was oblivious and sending one quirky wink to Trickster he said; "I'd like to recruit you."


	3. Newcomers

For an instant everything seemed to freeze and turn ominous.

The dark stranger swept up to Joker, who took a step back feeling a little awkward and Trickster felt the primal urge to protect him before the man stepped back and gazed at him apologetically.

He sighed out and said in an almost tired voice. "The truth of the matter is that my current Master is spoiled and rather shocking."

Joker looked at him stupidly before he managed to stutter "Y-You're Master? Are you a servant at some manor?" He sent a gaze at Trickster who shrugged her shoulders and he said back to the man clad in black. "With yer nice appearance, I thought you were a gentleman but…"

The man chuckled, a sharp grin coming over his face as he said "Me, a gentleman? How absurd." He shook his dark head of ebony locks before adding "I'm a Butler to the core."

Joker looked like a smacked fish and the man said "So a moment ago when you said you'd like to scout me, is that true? If it is, I would certainly like to accept but…"

Before he could finish, Joker stopped gaping before he said in a flat, disbelieving voice "Are you serious?"

The man look flabbergasted for a moment before he said in a slow, uncertain voice "Aren't I always serious?"

He jumped back when Joker suddenly lurched forward and smacked him on the shoulder beaming in his very Joker-like smile. "Yer pretty funny! I like you." He turned to Trickster and beamed "Do you like him Princess?"

Trickster went red and wanted to shake her head but she refrained from doing so and nodded her head meekly instead. She wanted to please Joker and not make him look like a fool in front of the customer.

Joker gave her a warm smile before saying back to the man "So if it's ok with you, I don't mind if you come at any time."

"Hold on Joker!" Beast interjected but she was aptly ignored so she stormed up to the Boss of the Circus people and stamped her foot much like a child. "What are you deciding so quickly?" she fumed and Joker waved her off with an airy smile "Now, Now he's got outstanding talent."

As the pair argued about the decision, Trickster watched the stranger lift his hand and try to interrupt and failed…miserably.

"Um" he began trying to look for an opening before he smiled and said "The truth is, there is someone else I would like to introduce you to."

Joker looked up and held up his skeleton finger and said in an exuberant voice "If you got another person like you, it's great but… we've got an entrance test."

The stranger didn't seem hindered and only Trickster was the only one to see the small smile dance on his lips before he said in a sly voice "I understand then, tomorrow I will bring that person to you, thank you for today's hospitality."

All the people in the tent glanced at each other with a small question mark above their heads and the stranger left and opened the tent flap "You needn't see me off." And at that; he left and everything was silent.

Joker smiled and stood back and Beast grumbled "Can't believe you let him sign up for the entrance test." The red head lolled his head back to the Beast-tamer and smirked "The guy had some talent Beast, couldn' you see that?"

He went to stride away, on the way seizing Tricksters hand and beaming "You can help me tomorrow. I have a good feeling 'bout these people coming back. Could be an asset to our circus."

Trickster smiled, not having the guts to say what her mind was screaming;

"_I don't trust him."_

-_**The Next Morning**_-

"Good morning sunshine" a sing song voice rang out.

The sunlight streamed through the tent and there was a disgruntled groan from the bright bundle of blankets that belonged to one Circus Illusionist.

The Joker threw aside the tent flap in all of his morning glory, bright purple cape splaying out behind him, bright yellow bow as bright as the sun and wild red hair that had yet to be pinned back. He walked inside the tent, pinning the door back and sat on Eloise's bed and reached down and began to tickle the blankets.

A muffled squeal erupted out from the mounds and Eloise's hands came out and fought with Joker who laughed and continued to tickle her. Eloise giggled and kicked her legs out and Joker fell beside her and the blanket fell away revealing Eloise's pink face.

"Ah there she is" Joker laughed, ceasing in his assault and resting his wild red spikes on the pillow beside Eloise's and smiled "How's my Princess this morning?"

Eloise yawned and stretched out under her blankets much like the way a feline stretches. She let out a satisfied groan and gazed at Joker and smiled "You pumped for the entrance test today?"

Joker nodded "It'll be nice to have some new people join us, its fun and to be honest. We all need a little light in this situation." Eloise quirked a brow and raised it enquiringly "Why?"

Joker sighed and fixed a strand of brown hair and tucked it behind Eloise's ear, "Everything. Have you noticed-things have sorta changed around here? Doc and-stuff?"

Eloise nodded and didn't need to say anything more. She had noticed the change, even within her circus family; and she wasn't ready to lose anybody. Maybe a change was…good.

She got up and Joker followed suit.

She brushed out the snarls in her hair before gazing at Joker and smiling "Do you want me to pin back your hair?" she looked at his wild red hair and the Joker beamed "How'd you guess?" Eloise shook her head smiling and smacked Joker on the arm "Okay let me get changed."

The Joker obliged and waited for Eloise to get ready and when she got into her checkered, laced Lolita dress and her flats before letting him come back in. She expertly pinned back his hair with his numerous pins and the Joker hummed beneath her fingers. "Thanks Ell, I really appreciate it. I always know I can come to my Princess."

Eloise blushed and when she finished Jokers hair, she re-adjusted his cape and planted a quick kiss on his cheek when the other Cirques alerted a new presence in the tents. Joker got up and brandished his cane and yanked Eloise forward. "Come on Princess, you're coming with me to meet the new guests."

At his imploring gaze, Eloise couldn't resist and agreed to come along with him. He yanked her up and pulled her from her tent and they went to the entrance. Joker standing and walking proud and Eloise (to put it simple) was being dragged behind like a limp rag doll.

"Whoa" was Joker's morning greeting.

"You bought a really cute kid huh? Are you a boy?"

Eloise sputtered at Joker's rudeness and she steadied herself and steeled her will to meet these new strangers.

She saw the dark stranger and with him was a pathetic looking boy in old clothes and half his face covered by a large eye patch.

He looked so … _sad_

Eloise's heart broke under the sorrow that emanated from this boy and her bright façade fell.

"Yes" he murmured under the questioning gaze of Eloise and Joker "I was a pageboy at the manor." His voice was glum and almost … angry? He stood there and said "My name is…Finnian."

Eloise heard the tiny hesitation and her heart leapt in fear and suspicion. What was going on? Joker was clearly unaffected and he smiled broadly. "What a grand name. Well introduction's then I suppose; everybody around here calls me Joker" he gestured to Eloise.

"My Princess here is Eloise, but around here, her stage and _recommended _name is 'Trickster.'" Eloise smiled briefly and waved to the two in front of her and Joker still didn't look convinced that 'Finnian' was a boy and he said with a quirked lip "If you join we will give you a stage name." He stood back on his heels and held up his finger. "But cuteness isn't enough for you to join the circus, if you can't perform that is."

Eloise saw Dagger approach them, curious at the new arrivals and he strode to her with a bright smile on his face. "Morning Trickster, how's things?" the two watched Joker and 'Finnian' and the red head asked simply "Boy what's your strong point?"

Finnian shrugged looking up at Joker with a dull glare and finally mumbled "Darts?" Joker smiled and looked back to Trickster and Dagger and waved his hand "In that case, let's do knife throwing." He looked to Dagger and gestured him forward "Dagger, lend him a knife."

Dagger's face broke into a grin and he strode over to Finnian and handed him a knife. "Here ya go?" he was very open and friendly and Finnian took it without a word of thanks.

Joker smiled briefly before he became flat and he pointed out to the side. "Hit that target from over here." He pointed to a long target a fair distance away and Finnian's eyes became primal and determined.

He positioned the knife, getting used to its weight and Trickster's feline like eyes zeroed on the dark man's face. He looked suspicious and dark as he focused on Finnian and Trickster watched him. There was something _wrong_.

She snapped out of her daydream when she heard Dagger chuckle to Joker "Ah, ah Boss. You're so mean. With those skinny arms he can't reach that." Trickster could almost see the sweat drop and she smiled when she saw Joker's 'work' face.

"It's not mean; it can't be closer for the show."

Trickster shook her head, they had such little faith. She could put a little bit in this little boy. This could… be a change for him. She watched him aim for the target but instead of watching the boy, her eyes slid back to his dark companion who was standing in a crowd of gathering Cirques.

Finnian threw the knife with an almighty heave and a little embarrassingly the knife was looking like it wasn't going to hit the target at all. It started to fall towards the grass and Dagger laughed "Ahhh yep."

He popped on the 'p' and Joker started to say something but then suddenly; 'bang'

The knife suddenly jerked up and flew upwards and struck the target.

Dagger and Joker looked absolutely gobsmacked and everybody gasped at the sight before them. Except Trickster.

Her uncanny eyesight caught sight of what the boy's accomplice was doing.

Finnian threw another knife and Trickster continued to watch. The dark stranger flicked a small pebble straight at the knife Finnian had hurled; with deadly accuracy it hit the end of the knife flinging it upwards so it hit the bullseye.

Trickster's eyes widened at the scene before her and before she said anything. The man locked eyes with her. They flashed threateningly and as Trickster recoiled; he put a finger to his lips, telling her to be _quiet_.

Finnian threw the remainder of the knives, hitting the target every time by the help of his companion. Joker seemed satisfied and Dagger looked shocked and forlorn. Finnian looked smug and satisfied with himself.

"Seems like you got control over it" Joker nodded smiling before he raised his cane and called "_Next"_

Poor Finnian looked shell-shocked when he was led into the Big Top. They forced him up the ladder and Joker shouted "Tightrope walking!"

Finnian was met by Doll, dressed in her frilly pink outfit with half of her face obscured. She smiled prettily at him and Finnian looked down at the ground where his friend, Joker, Trickster and Dagger stood.

"Doll!" Joker sang "Tie the lifeline tightly. It's dangerous if a beginner falls."

Finnian looked uncertain and somewhat afraid before he called down hesitantly "Cant I do some sort of music test instead?"

Joker looked amused and he sang upwards to Finnian "Hmmm D'you wanna retire already boy?" Finnian hesitated again and said "N-no but if there is something else…"

"If you're serious" Joker called seriously "Don't dawdle and do it fast."

Joker stepped back and Finnian hesitated once more and Trickster couldn't help but focus back on Finnian's companion. He stared up at the boy intensely and as Finnian began to step onto the tightrope.

Trickster saw Doll clap her hands together anxiously as the boy stepped away and Finnian stepped onto the rope and instantly began to tilt dangerously. He was in clear danger of falling and Joker stepped into action and was ready to catch him.

Again, Trickster watched the dark man and as before, he pulled out a small pebble and flicked it quite forcefully up at Finnian on the tightrope above. It steadied the boy and the man continued to hit the boy with pebbles until he reached the end of the tightrope.

Trickster couldn't believe that Joker and Dagger didn't seem to see the boy being hit with stones. How could they be so blind?

As Finnian collapsed on the other side of the rope getting over his bad case of the jelly legs; Joker applauded "That's great! I didn't really think you'd be able to do it."

Finnian got down to earth and fought with the wobbles and he stood there glaring at everybody and Joker only smiled at him. Dagger strode up to him and patted Finnian on the head and cooing "So don't demote this cute lil' kid Boss."

Joker held up his hand and said matter-of-factly "Not yet. The boy hasn't done something real important." His face broke into a Cheshire grin and Trickster and Dagger simply looked at the Joker then back to the severely irritated looking Finnian.

The silence hung in the air and Joker strode over to Finnian and pointed his skeletal finger to him and the boy looked 'worried' for a split second before Joker bent down and said in a bright but serious voice.

"A big ol' _**smile**_."

Trickster held in a snort and her gaze shifted to the other man and saw that he had turned his back and his shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. Obviously this 'Finnian' was clearly _not _a smiler and Joker had asked for far too much.

His fists clenched noticeably at his sides and whatever he wanted to do or say seemed to be a difficult task. Trickster held her breath waiting for things to blow up but instead;

_Finnian let a large smile stretch across the length of his face._

Trickster let out her breath and couldn't help but smile back. Finnian looked like a child that deserved to smile. His small, pale face lit up and his large sapphire eye sparkled. With his dark navy hair, 'Finnian' was truly a gorgeous child.

But he held darkness within him and Trickster could feel that.

Trickster jumped slightly when Joker's voice suddenly yelled from next to her; "Everyyonnneee!" he gained everyone's attention and he gestured to the pair beside them, "From today on, we have some new friends."

All the Cirques gathered together and all of them looked bemused. Beast looked terribly upset, Dagger had a half smile on his face and Doll looked glassy eyed and confused.

Joker swept his purple cape out behind him and gestured out with his cane, "We have newcomers Black…"

He gestured to the man clad in black, a suited but pathetic name.

"I'm Black, it's a pleasure to meet you" he said in a gentlemanly manner.

And the boy 'Finnian'… "**Smile**"

Trickster saw Black snort silently, keeping a smile to himself but she couldn't help but giggle a little. Smile looked absolutely horror-struck at Joker's exclamation and nickname but the leader of the Cirques seemed totally oblivious.

He waved his hand and cane at the gathered Cirques and said in a bright, happy voice "Let's get along well everyone." There were murmurs from the gathered people and Trickster let out a sigh and stepped forward.

She offered her hands to the newly christened Black and Smile and said "It's nice to meet you." Black shook her hand graciously and when he touched her skin, Trickster felt a cold chill shoot up her spine.

_There was something about him…_

She ignored the instinct to run and she smiled back and looked down to Smile "Hope you enjoy it here."

Before she could say anything more, Dagger pushed forward and grinned to the pair in front of them, exclaiming "C'mon Smile- smile"

Smile wasn't amused.

After the introductions, Joker took on his leader role and said "Now, I'll take you on a tour of the backstage area." He gestured to Smile and Black as they changed into their new Circus outfits. Smile looked awkward and somewhat disgusted and Black had this eternal little smirk on his face that made Trickster feel on several occasions feel like that she wanted to smack him.

Joker gestured to Trickster to come along for his little tour and she obliged, she moved forward and past Black, feeling a familiar, ominous chill run up her spine. It wasn't a tingle, it hurt and it made Trickster feel on edge.

They strode from the Big Top and back to the tents lining the back of the Circus. Joker had Trickster on his arm and he gestured to the tents and beamed back at Black and Smile. "First, these're the tents you guys'll be sleeping in."

He made sure the pair was looking at the tent he was pointing to and finished his sentence, looking back over the rest of the tents. "It's where the backstage workers an' newcomers, the 'second Tier' members live."

He went to the tent that Black and Smile were going to stay in and opened the flap and they looked inside the tent "Bout two or three share a room." He let the flap fall back into place and Trickster turned around and said to Black, pointing down the line of tents.

"That is the mess hall and the storeroom down there."

Joker laughed and interjected "S'an important job for the new recruits to provide good grub, so good luck."

He led them down and pointed to a white tent and said "The centre one in this area is the first aid tent." He stopped and turned around gazing at Black and Smile "The most central one is the main cast's private tent."

Trickster didn't like the look that Black gave the tent and she gave Joker's arm a squeeze.

Smile gave them a dark look before he enquired; "Private?"

Joker gave him a light smile "S'a private room you get if you're real good." He nodded to Trickster and then raised his skeletal hand and smirked pointing to a lone tent in the shadows. "Ah an'…" he trailed off before Trickster piped in and finished his sentence.

"That's Snake's tent so I suggest you stay away, for your own good."

Joker smiled and with his free hand, reached up and tucked a curl behind Trickster's ear, he grinned at her and Trickster smiled back feeling her cheeks go warm.

Then Joker turned his attention back to the newcomers. "Sorry, ain't my Princess gorgeous? Can't keep my focus off her while she is around."

Trickster saw Black smile at her pleasantly while Smile scowled and he seemed to study her. Her eyes narrowed and she watched him back. While Joker jabbered on; "There's a bunch of poisonous snakes in there roaming free, so if you get bit; even once you're off to the Underworld."

He waved his hand and said casually "Snake an' his friends are still shy y'know?"

Trickster added onto his sentence sweetly "Careful of their poison you two."

A slight breeze rustled through the trees and tents rustling everbodies clothes, capes and hair. Smile's dark locks came away and as Joker turned around he cocked his head and enquired "What happened to your right eye Smile?"

Trickster was curious as well and cocked her head waiting for an answer and saw that Smile's reaction was a little suspicious as the boy scrambled for an answer. His hand flickered up to the large eye patch on his face "Ah this is… ah… there was an accident."

He dropped his hand and Joker sent a glance to Trickster who recognised the sympathy glowing in his eyes before his face fell and he walked up to Smile. He put his boned hand on the side of Smile's face his face solemn and sad. "Is that so?"

Smile looked a little unnerved as Joker showed his sympathy "So young" he murmured "But you have been through a lot." He looked down to Smile fondly and let a small smile stretch across his face. He patted the top of Smile's head and let a chuckled escape him. Smile looked utterly bewildered at Joker's actions and he gazed around seemingly asking for help that he wasn't going to get.

Joker leant down and draped his arm around Smile and said in a comforting voice that was supposed to cheer people up. "Everyone here's been through something, so you'll get along well with them."

Smile sweat-dropped and stammered a little 'yes' before sending Trickster a curious glare, as if he was trying to determine her age. He sent a quick look to Black who stepped forward and gained the Joker's attention by asking in a polite voice "Did everyone join during the tour like we did?"

Joker pursed his lips and a 'Hmmm' escaped him and nodded "S'true for most everyone, but the first Tier members're all from the same hometown." He beamed and seemed to boast "We all childhood friends."

Black looked somewhat confused and he repeated Joker's last words "Childhood friends?"

Joker waved his hand and began to walk back to Trickster "But Snake's still a new face. His snake charming is non to shabby an' we didn't have a snake-handler, so he quickly became a member."

Joker swept out his purple jacket and grabbed Trickster's hand and seemed to show her off to Smile and Black, "My Princess here turned up from the darkness. Didn't know where she was or where she came from. But she's tricky with her illusions and she made the cut and hasn't left since."

Trickster received yet another curious gaze from both Smile and Black, but the taller man seemed to be giving her smouldering crimson gaze. It was unnerving and Trickster's instincts told her that he was an enemy. It was like he was eyeing her as if she were a scrap of meat.

Trickster shuddered and nervously rolled back on her heels and Joker yanked her forward and gazed back to the tents and said "The perks are much sweeter if you're a First Tier member, an' you don't gotta worry about survival of the fittest. That's the reason everyone's working hard to compete to be a First Tier member."

Black looked at the grander tents and murmured to himself "First Tier?"

Joker pulled Trickster along and gesturing to the others to follow him and they walked to a smaller looking Big Top. They went inside and it was full of other, lower Cirque members. They walked the tightrope and others were on the trapeze while others were on the floor juggling or doing somersaults.

"This is the practise tent" Joker said in a bored voice "New people work over and over in this tent aiming at making their debut in a real public performance." He waved his hand casually towards the newcomers and said "Work on the basics first. Warm up carefully and…"

Before Joker could finish, the entrance to the tent was flung open and Beast strode in and gave a dissatisfied look to Black before stalking up to Trickster and Joker. "It's almost your turn" Beast said; Joker smiled and bowed cheekily and Trickster nodded and started to follow Beast out of the tent.

Joker waved his cane around and said loudly to Smile and Black "Go ahead an' go all out you two." He waved again and left after the two girls leaving the newcomers very much to themselves.

The night engulfed them and Joker halted Beast and smiled sweetly to Trickster, "Now my Princess, can you do me a favour?"

Trickster nodded and Joker brushed a lock of curled hair away from her face. "When I can't keep my eye on those two, the job falls to you. You can keep out of sight better than what I can." He nodded and Trickster agreed "I'll do my best" she said.

Beast snorted "I don't trust them, especially the tall one, there is just something about him that I just _hate_ I just want to knock his head right from his shoulders." She stopped and the trio turned around when they saw the bright happy face of Dagger waltzing towards the tent and he waved.

"Hey guys, where are the new Cirques?"

Joker gestured towards the tent and Dagger walked past waving his hands and said "I think the other guy that auditioned might give Black a run for his money. Suit is pretty good as well." At that Dagger walked into the tent and Trickster heard his loud voice sluice through the night air.

"You're warm ups are sluggish guyyssss."

Typical. If it wasn't Joker; it was Dagger.


	4. Sleuth

There was a slight rustle through the night.

A swift, lithe shape darted across the tightropes connecting the first Tier tents and jumped through the flaps of the Big Top and perched on top of the wooden beam on top.

Large violet eyes surveyed the sight underneath it and the sight of the brand new Cirques emerged from the tent.

The ominous newcomer Black paused behind Smile and looked up to the night sky. His unnatural red eyes seeking through the darkness, as if he knew he was being watched.

A long tail swept out to the side and a low yowl escaped the night. The black cat leapt from the wooden beam and down the tightrope. It raced across the tents to where Joker finally emerged; in his hand, clutching some stray pieces of paper.

Dagger led the Cirques to where Joker stood and the Leader waved his hand with a large grin on his face. "Thanks for waiting" he announced proudly. He waved the piece of paper around and said "It's time for the new arrivals room assignments."

When he paused there was a small 'Miaow' and a small black cat emerged from the shadows and began to purr and rub its face up against his leg. Joker smiled softly and picked the small cat up and faced the crowd.

He saw the gleam in Black's eyes and felt a surge of protection against the cat, knowing how the stranger acted around cats especially. He looked down at the cat and said in a slow, thoughtful voice "Er, this is- uh- Ellie. That's it." Joker laughed "Ellie is just a stray that we picked up a few years back, she has been travelling and living with us ever since.

'Ellie' the twisted in his arm wanting to be put down and was dropped to the grass, where she sat up and regarded all the Cirques with large, intelligent violet eyes.

Joker turned to Dagger with his clever look and asked "Where is Trickster? I thought she would have returned by now."

Dagger shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know Boss, maybe she got held up? I'm sure she will be here shortly."

After that, there was a sneeze from the newcomers and the distinct, miserable voice of Smile came out "I'm allergic to cats. Can you get it to go away?"

Joker was quick on the defence "Ellie is part of the family, if you don't like her tough. She's around whether you like it or not."

He glanced down at his piece of paper then announced "For fairness, these are the result of a lottery. Smile is in Tent 8." He looked back to the crowd and then gestured to a small, mousy haired boy "This is your roommate."

Smile's face turned dark and hostile and Joker continued "Black's in Tent 9."

Suddenly, Smile's unfriendly face went to a look of panic "Seba… Black and I aren't rooming together?"

Joker looked at him slightly shocked "Hm?" and from beside him Dagger laughed "Hahaha Smile really sticks close to Black huh? Don't worry you'll be independent soon."

Smile seemed to be choking on his words "T-That's not it, Black and I should be together…"  
>Joker let a small frown decorate his face and he raised his voice over Smile's tantrum "Black's roommate is… Suit!"<p>

The horror-struck looks on both Black and Suits face was deemed almost laughable and Joker and Dagger beamed at a horrified Smile "Black and Smile already get along well, so this is your chance to make new friends."

Joker clapped his hands "Alright let's split up." He gazed back to the place where the cat 'Ellie' was and saw that the feline had long disappeared. Then as he expected there was a rustle and the sound of footsteps.

Around the brightly lit corner of the tents, Trickster re-appeared. Her large jewelled headband was gone and her long dark hair was free of its prison of clips and pins. It cascaded down her shoulders as she hurried towards them.

"So sorry I'm late" she gasped "I got held up by the Doc" she gazed at Joker with sparking purple eyes "Nearly fell over 'Ellie' on the way as well. She was chasing something." She shook her head and pouted "You already paired everyone?"

Joker patted her shoulder "It's alright Princess, you didn't miss out on much, we were splitting up now. You can help if you want."

Trickster smiled and looked towards Smile and his roommate. The mousy boy smiled and thrust out his hand "It's nice to meet you Smile."

Trickster saw the hesitation in Smile's face and he grimaced as he murmured "Y-Yeah." She watched them part off and go to their own tents until she was left with only Joker and Dagger. She looked back to the boys and put her hands on her hips.

"Ellie'? A _stray_?"

Joker chuckled "I was put on the spot Ell; it's all I could think of in that minute." Dagger nodded "We aren't gunna cover your backside again Trickster. We all have a job to do."

Trickster sighed and dropped one of her hands, using the other one to rummage through the pockets and frills of her dress. She pulled out a handful of brightly coloured sweets and Dagger's eyes lit up. "Ohh is that 'Funtom' candy?"

Trickster nodded and handed some to the marksman and offering some to Joker. The Boss shook his head and laughed "You and Doll. You girls are the worst with sweets." He turned down the offer and Trickster shrugged unwrapping a strawberry lollipop. "Wouldn't be too surprised if Doll is already offering some of her sweets to Smile already."

She stuck the lollipop in her mouth and Joker linked his arm through hers. "Come on, it's been a long day. Like Dagger said, we all have jobs to do and we need to be on our best behaviour."

_It's going to be a long night_

* * *

><p>It was bright and early the next morning.<p>

Trickster was very much aware of the cold and frost outside her tent and inwardly groaned. She _hated _the cold.

Once she was awake, Trickster couldn't go back to sleep. So leaving her haven of comfort and warmth, she rummaged through her ruffles and frills to pull out her checkered knee high skirt; large striped stockings, the glittery white shirt and her favourite long purple coat that reached the back of her knees.

After she was dressed in her warm clothes, Trickster went to her bedside draw and pulled out a long worn, colourful patchwork scarf. It was all she had from a childhood she barely remembered, she treasured it and wouldn't give it up to the world.

She didn't bother decorating her hair and just simply brushed it out before putting on her boots and stepping outside into the bitter cold.

The icy air instantly bit at her face painfully and Trickster felt sorry for the newbies that had to be up preparing breakfast for the rest of the Cirques.

She left the tents and out to the clearing where the food was being prepared and smiled when she heard a familiar voice bark out "You're **slow **Smile, I'm gunna leave you behind!"

Trickster chuckled and walked out to the clearing where the saw the hustle and the bustle of the newcomers running around preparing the breakfasts. Large cauldrons sat on the grass with lovely smelling stews and large baskets were full of numerous vegetables and fruits that needed to be prepped and cut.

From the slightly gathered mist, Trickster saw a smaller shape emerge struggling with two buckets of potatoes. She recognised Smile immediately.

The young boy looked tired, miserable and harried. His scarf had come undone and his shirt hung crooked and loose and his coat hung off, Smile was directly in the cold.

Other kids laughed at Smile and didn't bother to help the struggling boy. Trickster frowned and let her kind nature take over her and she approached Smile through the mist. "Hello Smile" she said warmly "Let me help you."

She grabbed the tubs of potatoes from Smile and sat them down at her feet and looked back at the shabbily dressed young man and shook her head. "Were you in a hurry this morning?" Smile looked away and grunted, but Trickster saw the blush creeping up his cheeks.

"Don't worry" she smiled "I'll help you; some people are mean and rude around here. Don't like most of the attitude you get from the youngsters." She knelt down and helped Smile fix up his shirt then done up his cloak.

She got up to her feet and saw Smile's hands were shaking too badly to wrap his scarf up properly. She fixed it for him before going through her coat pocket and pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves that she was going to wear.

But Smile needed them more.

She offered them out and Smile went to refuse but Trickster shook her head and forced them onto his hands. "You need them more than what I do. Besides, I have more in my tent." She nodded to Smile and said "You look a heap better now. Where do you have to go? I will help you carry the potatoes there."

Smile picked up the much lighter potato tub and led the way and Trickster strode beside him when Black came out of one of the side tents. He had a devilish smirk on his face as he remarked "It seems that you remain unaccustomed to changing clothes on your own."

Smile sighed "I was hurrying." He gestured to Trickster "She helped me but. She was the only one that would."

Black sent a glance to Trickster before he nodded his head in a polite greeting "Good morning 'Trickster' I may say. Or do you prefer Eloise?"

Trickster felt a tiny bit uneasy at hearing her real name from Black but in a steady voice she replied "I'd prefer it you called me by my stage name. Especially around the new kids."

Black nodded "Of course Miss Trickster, thank you for helping young Smile here, he's a bit incompetent I some aspects." Smile sent him a murderous glance and Black smiled lightly and came over to the pair putting down his large bowl.

He went over to Smile and started to undo the eye patch that Smile wore and smirked "Oh dear; you are going to have a difficult time untying a dead knot on your own."

Then to everyone's amusement and somewhat horror. Black fixed up Smile's eye patch and neatly re-tied the knot.

Trickster smiled and saw the new Cirques laughing and sniggering at Smile and Black. While Smile just looked humiliated. Suddenly; Smile's roommate laughed out aloud and said "Smile, Black aint your mum!"

Everyone else just laughed and Smile stomped his foot like a child and said exasperatedly "No it's…" he trailed off and started to mumble _"It's just habit, well no…just sometimes." _He stopped and scowled at Black giving him a warning glance that clearly said _"Do __**NOT **__do that ever __**again**__."_

Trickster went over and saved Smile from the taunts and the laughter and said down to Smile "Just ignore them ok? Come on, let's get away and do what we have to do." Smile obliged and followed Trickster away from Black and the cruel children to a quiet spot in the clearing.

Trickster saw potato peelers in the tubs and pulled it out as Smile did the same. "S'pose they want us to peel them. I have nothing better to do, so I will help you ok?"

Smile mumbled something under his breath and Trickster smiled and quickly began to peel her first potato.

A short while passed and the fog began to dissipate. Trickster and Smile sat in silence, both peeling potato's until Smile's roommate came over and squawked at Smile "**What're ya planning on makin' from them potatoes with peels thicker than the meat!"**

Smile jumped a mile and Trickster turned around in surprise to see Smile's roommate and Black come up. Both not looking very amused. Trickster looked back to Smile's effort and felt her heart sink.

Smile's potato peels were basically the potato cut in half. They were thick and butchered beyond repair.

The boy sent a glance to her neatly sliced potato thins and his face went a beet red. Trickster recognised Smile's roommate, which was also her friend. "You have peeled that _many_? How did you con Trickster into helping you?"

Trickster dropped her peeler as Smile exploded "**I'M SORRY!"**

The Illusionist waved her hands desperately "Everything's fine, I offered to help. I had nothing to do. Smile needed help so I gave it to him."

The freckly boy picked up one of Smile's poor attempts at a potato peel and remarked "Cor Blimey, what part of this can we eat?" He was right. The potatoes were butchered beyond repair and the Cirques only had to go off what Trickster had peeled.

Black came to the rescue and took the tub from the Freckles as the Cirques knew 'him' by. "It cannot be helped" he sighed "I shall deep fry them as they are and turn them into crisps and make them into fish and chips."

Freckle's eyes lit up "Cor, I love those" he sang dancing beside Black. The dark man smiled down to the youngster "That's good to hear" he said. He began to walk away and Trickster saw Black give Smile a smirk.

Smile grumbled something and turned around and Trickster fixed her cloak up and asked concerned; "Smile? Are you ok?" The navy haired boy halted and scuffed his boots in the frost ridden dirt. "I'm fine. Thankyou…Trickster."

He seemed to hesitate on her name and before Trickster could reply, Smile threw everything down and disappeared into the fog.

…

Trickster hiked up her coat and walked around the tents. She saw a bunch of new Cirques and walked over and cleared her throat to gain attention. "Excuse me" she said to the group "Have any of you seen Smile?"

A girl somewhat in the middle of the group nodded "I saw him with the Freckly boy; they were in the tent practising. Smile was having an off day with the tightrope. So they left."

Trickster bobbed her head and said a quick thankyou before leaving. She walked over the frost ridden grass and thought to herself, _'Smile was failing because he didn't have Black there to support him. There is much more to these two than what I thought.'_

She tucked her scarf around her neck tightly and folded her arms across her chest as she walked. She wanted to find Smile and Freckles. Wanted to see what they were doing; hoping that Smile wasn't being taunted or being made fun of again.

There was something about that kid that made Trickster feel like she wanted to protect him.

Trickster started to walk past the water clearing where everyone had their showers where she heard a lot of commotion. Pausing for a second, she heard a large splash and a lot of shouting. Before the Illusionist could go over and see what was happening, she heard Smile's distinct and very distressed voice **"LET GO OF ME!"**

Trickster began to run in the direction of the commotion and saw Smile storming away. He was soaked to the bone, he was shivering badly and Trickster could see that he was angry and terribly upset.

"Smile!" she called out running to him as he slumped against the wheel of a horse carriage. She fell to her knees in front of the bedraggled boy and placed her hands on his shoulders. He was stone cold and Trickster's voice wobbled with fright as she fumbled with the laces that held her long coat together.

She undone it and slung it over Smile's shoulders and wrapped it around him and as he looked up, she gazed into his eyes. "What happened? I hope the others weren't pushing you to do anything?" Smile looked up at her with dark, angry eyes and he grumbled "I do not like being pushed around. I do what I want and I don't like any strings attached."

Trickster cocked her eyebrow but before she could ask her questions a shadow loomed before her. She panicked and spun around, losing her balance and falling against the carriage and banging her head on the wheel.

She heard the dark, smooth voice of Black "Oh Miss, I really do apologise."

Trickster was helped up and she heard the voice of Smile, "What do you think you were doing scaring her like that you idiot!"

Trickster's mind swam in front of her eyes and she felt something wet drizzle down the side of her head. Hesitantly she reached up and touched the wet and drew her fingers back down and saw that they were stained with crimson blood.

That done it for Trickster, memories attacked her mind and last she remembered was the horrified look of Smile and the confused and calculating look of Black before she fell unconscious.

_This wasn't going to be good_

…

"**WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY PRINCESS!" **

Joker stormed around Trickster's tent, sending anxious glances to a still unconscious Trickster. "How're we going to cover her act? How'd I be able to go out knowing that my Princess is hurt?"

Smile sighed "We were talking and she was startled by Black. She lost her balance and bumped her head on the carriage wheel. She got back up but when she saw her head was bleeding, that when she passed out."

Joker seemed unsure whether or not he wanted to believe the pair, Trickster was still out cold and she wouldn't be able to perform on her act tonight and the gash on her head still seemed pretty nasty. Joker paced again and Smile offered helpfully "I can always stay around and take care of her if you like. Just to be here when she wakes up?"

Smile looked up at Black and nodded and Joker seemed a little comforted by the fact that there was at least someone there to take of Trickster while he was out in the Big Top. He nodded then pointed to Black "A'right Black, you are coming with me and we will sort ou' another act to cover Trickster, Smile is able to look after her?"

Smile nodded and Joker strode out of the tent followed by Black and left Trickster in the care of the youngster.

* * *

><p>Trickster woke to a throbbing on the side of her head. She sat up groaning, and then was hit by the memory of earlier on that morning. She remembered hitting her head and she was bleeding. Her hand flew up to her forehead and felt a bandage covering a large lump.<p>

It hurt to touch and Trickster winced and put her hand down.

Then she was hit with the realisation that there was a show that was supposed to be put on tonight. Panic consumed her and she fell out of her bed in her rush and crawled to her dresser.

"Oh no!" she cried tearfully, scrambling up and wrenching open the doors to see her performance outfit still in its place hanging up.

Tears began to roll down her cheeks and she was able to hear the Big Top with all the delighted guests and Jokers booming voice over the microphone. "I'm so dead!" Trickster groaned abandoning her outfit and racing out into the bitter cold of the night.

Through the darkness, Trickster leapt up into the air and her body shimmered and contorted before turning into the light form of her cat. She hit the ground on all fours and began to dart through the tents only to halt suddenly to see Smile sneak into Beast's tent.

_What was this?_

Trickster debated whether or not to go in there and reprimand the boy, but before she could transform back. Her feline ears picked up the soft thuds of footsteps and through the lights, she saw Beast wrapped in a cloak.

She was dressed in her outfit but something must have happened.

There was a massive cheer from the Big Top and Beast stopped and turned around breathing to herself "They're getting excited." She stood there for a moment before turning around and Trickster ducked into the shadows and knew that Smile was doomed to be caught for snooping.

Beast strode into her tent and all Trickster could do was hold her breath and wait for the inevitable. After a few minutes, Beast came back out of her tent dressed up in a red and black corset and started to walk back towards the Big Top and Trickster was left dumbfounded.

She had definitely seen Smile sneak in there.

She sat in the shadows for another couple of minutes waiting to see if Smile came back out and was ready to storm in there before she saw the tent flap move and to her utter shock… _Black came out of the tent._

Trickster had not seen Black enter the tent… Unless he had been in there before Smile. How did Beast not see them? Especially the tall Black. There isn't much places to hide especially in a tent; this got Trickster suspicious.

Black strode from Beast's tent and began to walk the same path as Beast, but he paused for a brief second and turned around, searching the rows of tents as if he knew he was being watched. After a moment, he walked away and Trickster saw Smile emerge a moment later.

He crept through the tent and started to sleuth around and make his way to the front of the row where Joker's tent resided. With shock coiling in her stomach, Trickster left her hiding spot and leapt up a wooden pole and raced along the tightropes and into the top of Joker's tent.

She jumped down and landed on his bed.

She made sure it looked like she had been sleeping there and put her head down only to wrench it back up when Smile crept in. Within that moment, he sneezed and he looked towards the bed where he saw the black cat lazily laying on the Joker's bed.

"Ugh" he grunted "I hate cats."

Trickster let a small 'miaow' escape her and inched further away as Smile snooped through Joker's personal things. He went to his dresser and picked up two photo frames, one in each hand and muttered "He has the same photograph Beast had. Sebastian was right."

_Who was Sebastian?_

Trickster let another meow out, trying to warn Smile away. He didn't give her another sidewards glance. Smile looked at the other picture, which Trickster knew was a picture of her and Joker.

The same picture Joker had at all times in his purple coat pocket he always wore.

"She's never without him" Smile whispered putting the frames back down.

Trickster leapt off the bed, disturbing the pillows and knocking an envelope from Joker's bed. Smile sneezed again as he approached and he bent down and picked up the envelope.

"What's this?"

His eyes widened "The Pipers Son? Like Mother Goose?"

He proceeded to open the envelope and inside was a piece of paper. Trickster sat at Smile's feet cursing herself mentally. She looked up and in inky black letters on top of the paper clearly said **CIEL PHANTOMHIVE**

"This is…" Smile said horrified "This is my name? Why do they have my name?" his voice shook a little from the shock and he muttered to himself "Don't tell me my cover been blown?"

Before he could snoop around some more, there were noises from outside the tent and the voice of the Cirque troupe was heard. The show was over.

"Drat" Smile or 'Ciel' said. He scrambled around the tent and put the letter back under Joker's pillow and Trickster darted from the tent and behind some wooden crates on the side of the tent. 'Smile' followed her and sat beside her.

"…This is bad" he muttered seemingly to the cat "I went too far… I have to get back to the tents to avoid discovery. I Promised Joker that I would keep an eye on Trickster."

"Meow?" Trickster said _"Damn… I have to get back"_

Joker's and Daggers voices were heard then over the clambering. "Aren't cha starving?" Joker laughed and Dagger replied "To d'mess hall we go?"

Joker paused for a second and nodded "Yeah, I will get something and bring it back for Eloise. Check'f Smile kept an eye on her."

Trickster had a span of five minutes to get back to her tent without being seen. She was an Illusionist, she could do it. Smile however was not.

He was a liar and Trickster felt betrayed.

She scrambled from the darkness and up a wooden pole beside Joker's tent and started to walk across the adjoining, criss-crossed tightrope before she saw an advancing figure coming from behind the tents.

A figure dressed in frills of pink and white. Doll.

She spotted Smile hiding behind the crates and said abruptly and suspiciously **"Hey!" **

Smile froze and Doll continued "What're you doing there?"

Smile had been caught.

* * *

><p>Doll looked up briefly and saw a black cat give a small meow and disappear and she looked back to Smile "Oi, what are you doing over there?" Smile looked horrified and Doll reached over the crates and put her hand over his mouth.<p>

"Don't move"

Her eyes searched Smile's before she froze and heard Dagger's voice "Hey Doll, what are ya doing?" Dagger approached the frilly clad figure and Doll's visible eyes widened in shock and she whispered "Snake."

Suddenly from beside Smile, Doll whipped a slithering snake up and turned around looking stern and angry. She held it out and saw Snake behind Dagger. "A venomous snake was slithering about."

Dagger jumped back looking a little unnerved and Snake glared at Doll.

"Didn't I tell you not to let them loose outside?" Doll snapped to the Snake Charmer "You'd better put them in your room properly now."

Snake took the snake back and said in a calm voice "I'm sorry for my carelessness that could have put you in the next world." He slung the snake around his neck and Doll simply continued to glare at him. Dagger had inched away and he said in a whimpering voice "Put them away… I beg you."

The two males left Doll standing by the crates and when the coast was clear. Doll spun around and grabbed Smile by the wrist wrenching him up. "This way" she ordered. She looked around making sure the coast was clear before hissing _"Hurry."_

"_You better thank me next time Trickster" _Doll thought to herself.

* * *

><p>Trickster had just fixed herself up when she heard Doll's voice "It should be fine now since we came so far."<p>

The brunette Illusionist whipped aside her tent flap and saw a flustered Smile and Doll smiled sweetly at her.

Smile coughed and re-adjusted his scarf and choked to Doll; "Why did you help me?"

Trickster giggled and Doll rolled her eyes and turned back to Smile "You still don't get it… It's me!"

Doll took off her headdress and the total look of horror on Smile's face was so priceless that Trickster laughed out aloud.

"FRECKLES!" Smile yelped "You are a guy… Yet you wear that costume?"

Doll looked offended and she said "How rude" she exclaimed. She reached forward and grabbed Smile's hand and put it on her breasts to prove that she was a girl and Smile looked downright embarrassed and somewhat disgusted.

"You can take a peek downstairs if you want" Doll offered and Smile made a disgusted yelp-like sound and jumped away; holding his hand like it had been scalded.

Trickster giggled again and stepped forward and put her hand on Doll's shoulder "Thankyou Doll, I appreciate you saving him." Doll turned around and held out her hand "Well fess up sweetheart. I had to fend off Dagger and Snake. That's double."

Trickster sighed and rummaged through her coat and dredged out handfuls of 'Funtom' candy and gave it to Doll with a forlorn look on her face. Doll cackled evilly "At last, I get hold of Trickster's elusive stash. I'm surprised Boss lets you hoard this stuff."

She opened up a caramel and popped it in her mouth and turned back to Smile and said through chewy teeth "Why were you there in the firs' place? Didn't Joker tell you about the venomous snakes?"

Trickster saw the lies ticking behind Smile's eyes formulating a plan before he mumbled "About that."

Then the lies came tumbling out.

"I'm sorry!" Smile cried throwing his hands in his messy navy hair "I didn't steal anything today though. Please don't boot me out of here."

"T-Today?" Doll spluttered choking on her sweet. Her face looked horrified and Trickster frowned. 'What if he had stolen something?'

"Before I became a page boy" Smile explained "I was actually living in the east end, doing all I could to survive. I knew it was wrong but I couldn't help myself. The mansion I worked for previously found out about it…" he trailed off and looked up and the distress on his face almost had Trickster believing him if she didn't already know the truth.

"I-If I was driven out of here, I'd have to live on the East end again."

He slumped and his fingers tightened in his hair before letting them drop and Doll said reluctantly "So you didn't really steal anything eh?"

Smile clasped his hands together "No I didn't! I swear to god."

Doll sighed then swallowing the rest of her sweet caramel "Oh well, I have no choice then… Its ok, anyhow I owe you."

Smile's face fell into a pure look of relief "Thank you so much!"

Doll smiled "I think everyone has some things about them that they don't want others to know. Besides… I did something bad to you today." Her face was guilty "I'm sorry for what I did to you in the showers." She nodded and her eyes wavered with tears "So now we're even. But this stays between us ok?"

She pointed to Smile and Trickster who both nodded and she seemed satisfied with their answers before she took on a stern voice and pointed to Smile "However! Don't steal again no matter what." Smile nodded "Ok."

Doll waved her hand "Don't fret because I'm a first Tier member either. I like to share a tent with others, it makes me sleep better." She wandered off past the other tents before calling out "Thanks for your sweets Trickster."

Trickster smiled and shook her head and when Doll disappeared, the Illusionist turned towards the boy "You're lucky she saved you Smile, Snake isn't an easy character to slip by." Smile looked up at her with a confused and suspicious look on his face but before he could sputter a question. Trickster swept down and placed her index finger on his lips.

"Shh… Now go, Go do your own thing. Joker will be here any moment. Don't want you getting into trouble. Bye Smile."

The boy turned around, giving her one last suspicious glance before walking away and Trickster bowed her head and her eyes flashed maliciously.

_Ciel Phantomhive_


	5. Revealed

**Hello Tricky readers**

**Heres another update..**

**I like this chapter, but then again I dont.**

**I really do aplogise if it seems clipped and rushed but once I get into the swing of the story it will get better, I promise.**

**Please read and review**

**Enjoy**

**(Music lyrics: They're coming to take me away- originally by Dr Demento) **

* * *

><p>"Smile and Black were in our tents!"<p>

Joker stormed into Trickster's tent and began to search her dresser, making sure everything was there. "Snake says that his snakes saw them in all of our tents. Though they didn't know what they were after."

Trickster pretended to be surprised "Really?" She smacked her forehead gently "If I didn't hit my head being clumsy, I could have kept a better eye on them."

"Hey, Hey" Joker soothed coming over to her. "It wasn't your fault Princess. Black probably pushed you for all I know. They could be lying about everything." His face was dark with suspicion and Trickster offered out "Oh c'mon Joker, everyone has their past that they don't want to talk about. Maybe those two have that. They could be haunted by it every day and here we are accusing them of being thieves and traitors?"

She cocked her head to the side "Don't make it worse for them Joker."

The red head clenched his fists and he said "Maybe they found out about Doll? I knew she wouldn't be able to keep her secret." Trickster was quick to her friends defence "Doll isn't stupid Joker. She would do anything for us over anyone."

Joker looked angry and betrayed but he said in a hushed voice "Jumbo said that they could be connected to Scotland Yard. If they are how can we dispose of them quickly and quietly when we would have the entire police force on our backs?"

Trickster drew back unable to answer Joker's question and his next statement made her eyes widen. "Let's consult Father first."

Trickster's reaction was instantaneous "We can't leave the others here Joker; Father isn't our ticket out every time. What makes you think that he will help us this time?"

Joker spun around his slate coloured eyes livid. "He saved us Eloise _and_he was kind enough to pick you up and bring you back from the brink of death."

Trickster recoiled back fearfully and she looked down to her feet and tried to fight off the incoming flood of tears. Joker just couldn't up and walk away leaving the Cirques behind. Joker noticed her distress and then let the anger fade from his voice.

"Ell…"

Trickster looked up and tears rolled down her face "If you go, I can't guarantee that the others will do something stupid. I can't afford to lose them Joker" she wept "_I __can__'__t __afford __to __lose __you_."

Joker looked stunned by Trickster's tears and before he could reach out and grab her, Trickster ran from her tent and stumbled outside.

Sobs racked her body and she looked up to see the concerned face of Beast. The Tamer knelt down beside her and placed her hands on Trickster's shoulders. "Honey" she said worriedly "What happened?"

She looked up to see Joker and her eyes narrowed "What did you _do_?" Joker swept out and his face was dark "I'm off to see Father."

Beast's face hardened "Joker, I have said this time and time again. Let's quit and go somewhere where Father can't find us. We have the Circus, we can make this work." Joker shook his head "We can't turn back Beast. Did you forget?"

Beast's eyes wavered and Joker bent down and lifted up Trickster's face to see her distraught face. "Hey" he said softly "I'll be back, if anything goes wrong come and get me Princess and I will come back."

Trickster let more tears fall and Joker smiled lightly before closing the gap between them and planting a soft kiss on Trickster's lips. "You'll always be my Princess Eloise, always. I'll come back for you no matter what."

He stood back up, "Staying up late isn't good for your health." He went to walk away and Beast yelled out "Joker!" but the Ringleader simply turned around and waved "Goodnight girls" and at that he disappeared.

Trickster let more tears fall as she wept. Beast helped her up and she had her own tears. "Come on Princess" she whispered "Joker will come back, he always does. He won't leave us behind."

Trickster sobbed again before she squeaked "I'm so sorry Beast."

The Illusionist pulled away from the Tamer and ran as fast as her feet would take her and disappeared into the night.

Leaving Beast very much alone, all the Tamer could do was cry until a certain dark voice came from behind her "_Are__you__crying?__"_

Beast spun around to see Black jump down from the carriage behind her and he said in his smooth, exotic voice "He loves Miss Eloise too much. To waste your feelings on a pathetic being like him is a waste of your time. He won't look sideways at you when he has his Princess in his sights."

Black crept up behind Beast and started to whisper in her ear, "Just forget for one night and give into a night of pleasure. Leave everything behind and come with me."

So at that, Beast abandoned her trek to run after Trickster and left with Black, both sinking into the darkness.

…

"_Remember when you ran away and I got on my knees and begged you not to  
>leave because I'd go berserk? Well...<br>You left me anyhow and then the days got worse and worse and now you see  
>I've gone completely out of my mind... And..." <em>

"_They're coming to take me away, ha-haaa!  
>They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa<br>To the funny farm. Where life is beautiful all the time and I'll be  
>happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats and they're<br>coming to take me away, ha-haaa!"_

Trickster looked up miserably from her breakfast and saw the bright beaming face of Dagger. He poked out his tongue and danced away continuing to sing the song, a favourite among the Cirques. When Trickster didn't join in, Dagger stopped and let his smile drop. He went back over to the Illusionist and sat down on the bench beside her and leant his head on her shoulder, letting his caramel coloured hair spill over her shoulder.

"Are you alright Trickster?" he asked and the Illusionist stabbed at her breakfast and mumbled "No I don't know what to do Dagger, Joker just ups and leaves us all. After all these years after Father abandoned us, he still goes back to him."

Dagger nodded "It's not fair on us or is it fair on you Trick, but hey, he don't listen to us does he?" Trickster nodded "Yeah, he's still as stubborn as ever." She dropped her spoon and sighed "What am I going to do?"

Dagger's face became solemn and he said "Well there's this thing we are talking about doing."

…

'_Smack'_

Trickster and Dagger walked past Peter's tent to hear a sharp slap coming from it.

Frowning Dagger strode forward and Trickster followed and peered in to see Doll on the floor clutching her cheek.

"I thought I told you not to believe the outsiders so much" Peter shouted. Poor Doll looked upset and she began to stammer "B-But" she wept "He's still a child, he had no-where else to go" she pleaded "Plus we made a promise."

"THAT'S WHY IM SAYING THAT YOU'RE STILL A KID" Peter shouted raising his hand up above his head, ready to hit Doll again. But before he could Trickster shouted out "Peter!" and from behind the Trapeze artist Jumbo appeared and grabbed Peter's arm.

"Brother Peter" he said in his calm voice "This is not what we should be doing at the moment." Peter looked behind him at the gorilla sized man and began to protest. "Jumbo!" but Jumbo didn't let him speak, instead he spoke over Peter.

"The ones who trespassed in our tent, Smile and Black and the one who possessed skills equal to theirs, Suit, have all disappeared." The tent went silent and Jumbo finished his sentence "To stay here any longer would be dangerous."

Trickster felt her heart drop to her feet and she whispered to herself, "I knew it!" she looked to everyone in the tent. "We can't disappear; we have to wait for Joker!" Dagger nodded "We have to wait till he comes back."

"He's at Father's right now; even if he hurries it'll be 3 days." Beast came in from the side and Trickster held out her hands, "Hey guys, we can't be reckless about this. We need a plan and I won't feel comfortable until Joker comes back and if we need to leave we can."

Dagger agreed with her, "Ell's right guys, if we need to get away at least we would be able to get everyone together."

"It'll be too late by then" Wendy protested "We need to move fast." She looked to Jumbo who placed his huge hand on Doll's shoulder, "Father said that this target is special, if we don't do anything while we are here, Father will be angry for sure."

Peter agreed and folded his arms across his chest "As Jumbo said, this time the boy's house isn't a town close by, we should do it while he is still in London. If we start now then by the time we go and come back it will be dawn already."

He sent an irritated glance to Trickster and Dagger "I guess it can't be helped." He looked back to the other Cirques "We'll carry it out tomorrow."

"NO!" Trickster protested "This is dangerous, if we go out breaking into people's houses, then the attention _will _be focused on us. We can't risk that sort of attention, before Joker left; he mentioned something about Scotland Yard. Those are a lot more professional and sneaky than regular police."

She started to hyperventilate "I like my life the way it is thank you, I am not 'bout to run off and get killed because of others negligence. And if we do survive and come back, Joker would kill us for being complete morons."

Wendy gazed at her "But if we are missing people, we will lack battle power might the need come." Trickster folded her arms "No! I'm not barging in and being an idiot. You guys can, I'll wait on the sidelines, then I'll magick myself out if need be."

"Fine" Peter said "Doll, you go get Joker. Bring him back."

Doll looked up tearily "Alright" she whimpered.

"I'll go get horses" Beast sighed walking from the tent and Trickster stood there defiantly and Dagger leant over and whispered "I'll vote sidelines with you Ell; it's a pretty silly idea to strike while the iron is still yet to warm up."

"Still damn hurts though" Trickster said grumpily "Man when I get my hands on those Trapeze artists, I'll strangle them myself."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Tom, he was a pipers son<strong>_

_**He learnt to play when he was young**_

_**And all the tune he could play;**_

_**Was 'Over the Hills and Far Away'**_

_**Over the hills and a great way off**_

_**The wind shall blow my top-knot off **_

…

**Joker slammed open the double doors and was greeted by darkness. The mansion was eerily silent and the red head couldn't help but let a small shiver run up and down his spine. He opened the door some more and called out;**

"**Father, I have returned home just now."**

**Joker swept to the stairs and proceeded up them and reached a familiar doo up at the top of the stairs. He knocked several times on the mahogany wood and called out "Father, please excuse me."**

**Joker let himself in and was greeted by more darkness, but by the dim silver light of the moon shining through the window; Joker was able to make out the figure sitting in a large chair at the front of the room.**

"**Sorry for coming at such a late hour, but actually, I would like to tell you tha…"**

**Joker wasn't able to finish before 'Father' interrupted him; "Ohh welcome back Joker, what a good child you are for coming back so soon." Joker opened his mouth to speak but was spoken over again. "And what about him? He is with you right?"**

**Joker shifted uneasily and became aware of the dolls that were surrounding Father. They stared at him with beady and glassy eyes, as if they were accusing him. It was a scary sight and Joker was able to fathom why Trickster didn't like coming to see Father.**

"**N-No" Joker said "That's still…"**

"**WHAT!"**

**Joker felt a sweat drop drip down the side of his face and Father's voice was calm again. "Well doesn't that make you a bad child then?"**

**Joker fell to his knees apologetically bowing his head "I'm extremely sorry. In relation to that matter, it seems that we have been marked by the yard." **

**Father was silent… Then; "Please elaborate."**

"**It seems that some new guys we recruited the other day snuck into our tents. There is a chance that he saw Father's letter. If they're from the yard, we can't take this lightly it's like we are suspected criminals." Joker tried to explain the best he could "From the start, I thought they were a quite unusual couple, that boy…"**

**Joker stopped, his eyes widening slightly. The dark figure of father began to shake and Joker asked hesitantly "Father?" **

"**It was a child?"**

"**Y-yes, the other was dressed all in black."**

"**A child and a butler?" Father rasped his voice gaining octaves and Joker got up to his feet and nodded "Now that you mention it, they said he was an ex-butler."**

"**_It must be so" _Father whispered excitedly _"It's so… It must be."_**

**Father suddenly stood up, revealing his rounded face which was completely covering his whole head except his mouth and his right eye. "We did it!" he cried triumphantly to a surprised Joker "It's him! It's the Earl Ciel Phantomhive."**

**Joker looked confused and bewildered "Smile? He didn't seem…"**

**Again he was cut off and Father began to rant "Ever since that day, I have been dreaming of this. When he comes here, we must give him the best service possible. Joker! Please hurry and start preparing a splendid banquet."**

**This time it was Joker's turn to do the interrupting "Hold on a sec" he cried alarmed; "If that's true, Noahs Ark is in trouble, we must issue orders immediately. On top of that…"**

"**JOKER!" Father's voice was menacing and Joker cringed back as Father seethed "Are you talking back to me?"**

**The red head froze and stepped back and Father's voice was accusing "I raised you, who had been abandoned at birth. I have you limbs that moved freely, you will talk back to _that Father_?" **

"**I didn't mean it like that" Joker choked in but Father continued; "Isn't it true? I raised you to be a good child." Father sat back down and began to stroke the children dolls beside him "Do you want your siblings still at the workhouse to be raised into splendid adults also right?" **

**Joker fell silent and took another step back and couldn't help but think to himself _"Trickster knew something was wrong; I ignored her. Now my Princess and everyone are in trouble." _Joker clenched his fists at his sides and found down the urge to yell out in frustration. _"She told me to stay… I didn't stay."_**

* * *

><p>Trickster watched the other Tier members get ready to set off. Only there was one problem, Beast refused to get out of her tent. Trickster couldn't help but feel the worry that was gnawing at her stomach.<p>

This was a bad idea. Trickster knew it, yet, she was allowing herself to be pulled along when she could have stayed back or even gone with Doll to get Joker. They needed the power of all the Cirques.

Yet, they were all broken and split and Peter expected the Tier's to go bombard a mansion that was most likely protected and guarded. It just spelt 'bad' and 'wrong' all over it.

_What was she doing?_

….

**Joker felt broken and betrayed as he seated Earl Phantomhive and his Butler. Father had insisted he start he start a show with the Father's children and he had no choice but to do as what he was told.**

**Father wanted to impress the Earl, if Joker ruined this chance, he was a goner and so was his family of Cirques. **

**A red curtain opened and on the stage was a line of all children dressed up in colourful masks and outfits. "Welcome Earl Phantomhive" he called "Tonight I will accompany you to a world of pleasure that will leave you dazzled."**

**From the other end of the table, Father cheered and clapped on the circus children, earning himself a hateful glare from the Earl. **

**Joker sighed inwardly and held out his hand out to a small girl climbing the ladder to the tightrope. She reached the platform and picked up a large pole. "First we have a tightrope walker, with no lifeline or anything, this is the real deal." Joker announced introducing the act.**

**It was silent as the little girl stepped onto the tightrope; she was no expert like Doll. After the first couple of steps, the girl teetered dangerously before she lost her balance and _fell _from the rope.**

**She seemed to fall in slow motion and then she hit the floor with a sickening _'crack.' _Blood flicked up and it began to pool underneath the little body. **

**Ciel Phantomhive looked utterly horrified. His butler cocked and eyebrow then they both looked to Father who was rocking back and forth in his chair laughing and clapping in delight. Joker looked down to the floor and began to shake at the scene before him. She closed his eyes but wasn't able to get rid of the scene before his eyes.**

_**This was wrong**_

**Joker stepped to the front of the stage and held out his trembling arms and said in a wavering voice "Next is our wild animal tamer." **

**2 children pulled the corpse of the failed tightrope walker off the stage leaving a long trail of blood while another two pulled forward a cage with an extremely angry lion inside. It let out a fierce roar and the child that held the whip stepped forward and stood in direct way of the lion.**

**The cage was opened and Joker announced "A fierce lion will…" The lion stepped forward to the young lion tamer then pounced and mauled the poor child and began to eat him. Blood pooled around Joker's feet and the red head began to shake even more.**

**Father continued to laugh in delight.**

**When the knife throwing event came aboard Ciel Phantomhive had enough. As the first knife was thrown towards a helpless little girl, Ciel yelled "Sebastian! Stop it."**

**The butler named now as 'Sebastian' dove in front of the target and neatly caught the knife in between his index and middle finger. He announced that the children were kidnapped and Ciel turned on Father.**

**Joker began to feel weary and he wanted to get away from this mess, he had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that something bad was going to happen. He looked helplessly back at Father, who realised that this 'treasured' child was unhappy and started to yell at him. "Joker! Get this cleaned up!"**

**The world around him began to spin and Joker saw all the blood around him. His mind wandered to the thought of his family, of Trickster and he stumbled off stage, just as Ciel Phantomhive began to yell at Father.**

"**_Joker!" _Trickster's voice reverberated in Joker's head _"You aren't safe, please listen to me."_**

**Joker started to sway but then he heard Father's voice calling him. Telling him to go to the basement. To show Ciel what was in there; to be honest even Joker didn't know what was in there.**

**Trickster only seemed to shriek more loudly in his head _"You idiot! I'm coming right now!"_**

**Things seemed to go in a blur to Joker. They reached the basement and all Joker remembered was it that was set up like a sacrificial chamber. Blood and corpses lie everywhere, a stone table sat in the middle.**

**All Joker remembered was Ciel Phantomhive's face contorting in horror and anger and then the gun came out. **

'_**Bang!'**_

**Ciel's face was wild with anger and his butler only seemed to smirk. It took Joker a moment to realise what happened. Then everything seemed to hit him at once. "FATHER" he shouted brandishing his sword. **

**His vision blurred and went red with anger, he saw the Butler come towards him and Joker went to push the Butler away only for the bastard to grab his skeletal hand and wrench it right off the arm bone. Joker didn't let it hinder him in his attack, he grabbed the bone from his sleeve and it turned out to be a long dagger that had been in the hollow bone. He aimed his attack at the young Earl and lunged. He was going to kill him.**

**Then…**

**Joker saw a spurt of blood and intense pain suddenly overcame him and he saw his good, _human _arm fall to the floor with a 'thud' Joker lost his balance and he heard the Butler say "Please do not disturb my Master."**

* * *

><p>The room seemed to freeze and the room temperature dropped several degrees as the shadows swept forward and a blinding figure of dazzling glitter and colour appeared. As Joker fell, his head didn't hit the floor, instead hitting his head on flesh.<p>

The smell of citrus apples hit his nose and he manages to gasp out "Eloise?"

Trickster let a wail escape her as she saw Joker and she screamed "I told you not to be an idiot! Look what you did."

Tears rolled down her cheeks and she sent a furious glare to the human she had formerly knew as Black. _"You" _she demanded fiercely "_This is your fault_". The Butler stared at her through crimson eyes and he said softly "You aren't human."

Over Trickster's shouting, another loud cry echoed out throughout the hall and Father or Ciel had shouted at him 'Baron Kelvin.' Fell from his wheelchair and grasped hold of Ciel's leg. "I beg you, if you are going to kill me, do it just like you did to everyone else on _that _day."

Ciel was fuming and he whispered "Just like them?"

His face contorted and he lifted his heeled shoe and slammed it back down on Kelvin's head, slamming it into the tiles. Kelvin let a cry escape him and Ciel said darkly "Kneel down like a worm then and beg the demon to do it."

He pointed a gun right to Kelvin's head and from the blood spattered floor and from Trickster's crimson lap, Joker scrambled up and shouted "Please don't kill him! Despite what he is, he saved us. We were abandoned by our family and country; he saved us from the fear of starvation!"

"Joker!" Trickster sobbed grabbing him and pulling him back to her. "Please don't do this. Please, I scarified a lot to get here as quickly as I could. Don't fail me now."

Her quiet pleas went unheard and Joker shouted "Many brothers and sisters are still in the workhouse. If he dies we can't live on." Joker struggled against Trickster who kept an inexorable hold on him.

Sebastian looked to the pair on the floor and said in a dark voice "Is that why you kidnapped children. You have obeyed this man in order to live…by sacrificing others?"

Joker slumped back into Trickster and sighed "Yeah." He began to shake from the loss of blood and Trickster began to panic and she picked up his bloody stump and began to breathe on it and hugged it to her chest.

"I can't lose you Joker!" she cried desperately "I can't, I sacrificed far too much to lose you. _I can't_." She began to rock backwards and forwards and Sebastian seemed to eye her critically, reading her like a book.

Joker looked up at Trickster and lifted his bloody stump and tried to caress Trickster's hair back. Instead he left a trail smear or blood down her face and he whispered "Go back to the others my Princess; they need you more than I."

"NO!" Trickster shrieked "I can't leave you; I told Peter it was a stupid idea to go to the stupid manor. He didn't listen to me Joker, they were going anyway. I told them to _wait_."

Ciel's reaction was to abandon Kelvin and grab Trickster's hair and yank her head backwards forcing her to look at him. "Your little troupe is going to my _manor_?" Another tear fell "I'm sorry Ciel; I tried to protect everyone in this."

Ciel let her go and he whispered "Elizabeth is at my manor."

* * *

><p>Trickster was torn; she didn't want to leave Joker's side. He could be killed if she wasn't there. She had already prolonged his life long enough but he needed treatment and fast. Trickster's mind began to play tricks on her and she began to whisper frantically and unknowingly;<p>

"_They're coming to take me away ha-haaa!_

_They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa  
>To the funny farm. Where life is beautiful all the time and I'll be<br>happy to…" _

Her head began to spin and more sparkling tears fell down her cheeks and landed on Joker's cheek. The red head was struggling to move now, his chest was feeling heavier but he was at peace that Trickster was there. She had saved his life.

Already his arm had stopped bleeding only to seep blood out tiny bits at a time, but they were both covered in so much blood that nobody would notice Joker's lack of bleeding. "Princess" he whispered "Go save the others, please do that for me."

Trickster opened her large violet eyes to stare at Joker and she whispered "I don't want to leave you Joker, it's unfair. I tried to halt this up. _I tried to stop it…and I failed_." More tears fell and Joker lifted his pathetic heap of limbs up to softly kiss Trickster on the lips.

"I promise you that I will come for you Eloise, I will take you away from all of this. Everyone. Take you away."

Trickster let a sob escape her and she whispered "Over the hills?" and Joker finished for her "and far away."

Trickster leant over and kissed Joker again and while their bodies were in close proximity of each other Trickster stealthily put a vial of glittering silver liquid in Joker's coat and whispered "Re-attach your skeleton hand and it will help you."

She pulled away and Joker smiled up at her through pain glazed eyes "I love-love my _angel_" he muttered and Trickster blushed "I'm not one Joker"

- _anymore._

Trickster got up and gazed back to Ciel and Sebastian and the Butler was staring at her with a demonic smirk on his face. His eyes flashed wildly and Ciel barked "Stop her- immediately!"

Trickster ran for the door, able to feel Sebastian's breath down her neck before she leapt into the shadows and disappeared in a puff off silver glitter.

She had gotten away.


	6. Assassination

**Hello dear readers... I looked back over Chapter five and cringed the entire way through it. I was even embarrassed when my own sister read it T-T... Anyway if you get a double update, that becuse I also deleted Chapter 5 and re uploaded it, hopefully without so many stupid errors.**

**FanFic doesnt seem to like me at the moment, it had a habit of putting either all my italic sentences or bold sentences in one big mashed up sentence without any spaces. I have scanned over the chapter again and if there are any mistakes please forgive me :)**

**This is an assassination chapter with a few twists inside. **

**Review, leave feedback and I will start to try to reply back to every single review I get :)**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

><p>"Seriously, this place is massive and we only have till dawn."<p>

Jumbo raced across the front courtyard of the Manor that the great Earl Phantomhive owned.

Despite his great size, Jumbo was stealthy and able to keep quiet.

What he didn't expect was a 'crack' of a stick. Jumbo spun around and from the darkness, he saw a young man with messy blonde hair come stumbling out rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Guests? At this hour?" he yawned.

Jumbo stepped back and looked around the darkness to make sure that he was the only one in the courtyard before he looked back to the young man who was still rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sorry" he said, wiping away a few stray tears from his eyes "I was told not to let any strangers in while our young Master is away."

He was there to defend the Manor.

Half of Jumbo's face went into a shadow and he was left with no choice. He stepped forward as the blonde haired boy said about to turn around. "Please come again some other time."

Jumbo grabbed the young man's head in the palm of his massive brown hand and half picked him up from the earth and threw him back down.

The younger man hit the gravel path with a solid 'thunk' and a splatter of blood decorated the dirt. Jumbo withheld a sigh and he stepped over the motionless body and continued to the dark Manor. "It can't be helped" he said to the body "Forgive me."

He didn't expect to hear a noise from behind him when he had disposed of the body. His whole body tensed and he spun around, his long cloak twisting around behind him. His gaze was transfixed on the body of the young man he had seemingly killed moments ago.

"Aw nah, I'd be in trouble" the boy said, lifting himself up to his arms and then struggling to his feet "They'd get mad at me wouldn't they?"

Jumbo's eyes widened in shock when he heard the crunch of the gravel under the gardening boots of the young man "The young Master told me" the man said coming closer. He reached out his hand and grabbed the front of Jumbo's cloak and a large, almost insane grin lit up his face.

"And Sebastian also."

Jumbo felt a small shiver run up his spine when his locked with the eyes of the young man that had dared tried to stop him. Under his bangs of golden hair, his forehead had been gashed and blood decorated his face and matted his hair.

His large eyes were lit up maniacally with a murderous glint behind them. He was crazy.

"…To never, _ever_let anybody go inside while they are away."

Then with inhumane strength, the younger man grasped Jumbo's cloak in both of his hands and without any effort, lifted Jumbo right _off_the ground and hurled him like a ragdoll. Jumbo grabbed the young man's hands and tried to pry them off, but the grip on him was tighter than a vice.

A rush of pure terror washed through Jumbo and he realised that he had met his match.

'_Maybe __we __should __have __listened __to __Trickster__'_

Jumbo tried fighting one more time and kicking out his tree trunk legs but that didn't work either. That's when he realised that the young man was getting to throw him again and behind was the stone walls of the Manor.

_No!_

_**SPLAT!**_

…

"Oooh" the younger man flinched when the massive man's head hit the stone wall. There was a sickening crunch and instantly a large spatter of blood decorated the man's head and the wall behind him like a halo of blood splats.

"Lots of blood came out huh?" the young man said, walking over and cringing at the sight of blood. He stepped back over the gravel and watched the limp stranger some more before he looked back up to the roof of the Manor.

He sighed and walked back over to the body, his face cringing in disgust and fear. "I hate painful things" he mumbled.

He stopped in front of the bloody mess and his eyes caught sight of his hand moving. Adrenaline broke back into his system and he almost jumped back when the massive man suddenly leant forward and shouted to the dark trees behind him.

"Bro, Sis! Please get away!" he shouted "This Mansion is strange."

"_Reinforcements__" _the younger man thought dangerously and his raised his hands once more, His intention of killing this intruder once and for all.

* * *

><p>Wendy jumped violently from the tree branch when she heard Jumbo's shout for them to get to safety.<p>

Fear barricaded through her when she heard him yell about the Mansion being strange. She looked up to the darkness and tried to call out for her brother. Fear made her voice barely rise over a whisper; but Peter came when she called his name.

He jumped onto the tree branch net to her and Wendy whimpered "Jumbo?"

The two looked back to the Mansion and it was deathly quiet, there were no sounds or noises and it made the place seem so much more dangerous.

Peter swallowed his fear and wanted to show his Sister that he wasn't afraid. He fixed up his cloak and looked back down to Wendy and jerked his head towards the Mansion.

"Let's go" he hissed.

Wendy obliged and she got up off the tree branch and the Trapeze Artists deftly jumped down all the numerous tree branches and towards the Earth, to see what had happened to their Brother. There was no way that Jumbo could have been brought down so fast.

They jumped over the shrubs and bushes and towards the Mansion. They stopped at the Courtyard that had been illuminated by the large full moon and the two were able to see what had happened. Wendy let a cry escape her and she shoved her fist over her mouth and Peter went numb.

They saw a large hole in the wall of the Manor and all that was visible of Jumbo was his two large legs hanging over the side of the crumbling stone.

"No way…" Peter whispered, glancing to his Sister's pale face "Jumbo was…"

A younger man stood in front of him and Peter heard him say to the lifeless Jumbo "Please don't yell this late at night. You'll wake Lady Elizabeth."

_How dare he!_

Peter brandished his whip that he had concealed in his sleeve and Wendy whispered "Peter?"

He aimed the man up perfectly and then with all his strength, he hurled the whip out and smacked it right through the mans' gardening hat and grazing him on the back of the neck.

Peter wrenched the hat right off the younger man, who had turned around in shock and spotted the two in the tree above him.

Peter was blinded by fury and he continued to whip everything in his path to obstruct the murderer before them.

"HOW DARE YOU!..." Peter shouted angrily; jumping down from the tree and unlocking the other whip he had in his other sleeve. "How dare you kill Jumbo!"

Two large whips shot out towards the blonde man, jumped back in time to miss Peter's whips and start to run across the gravel to stop the onslaught of the Artists whips.

Peter landed on a large hedge that had been cut and decorated and continued to lash out.

He wasn't aware of his surrounding and before he could jump off towards safety. The Gardener man had rushed forward and punched the hedge, resulting in Peter losing his balance.

Peter jumped off in mid-air and shouted "What are you doing?"

"I really liked that hat!" The blonde man looked up, his face angry. His shoulders were hunched and he said through gritted teeth "Now I can't hide it anymore!"

Through the light, a large black tattoo was seen on the back of his neck. They were numbers and Peter had a fleeting thought of _Experiment_. Before there was an angry shout "Also it was given to me by the young Master."

Peter landed on top a statue fixing up his large whips before the young man totally lost it. His face twisted in fury and in his fit of anger, he stormed to the ruined hedge that he had punched and lifted it right from the earth.

Clumps of dirt came away and the plant rustled and snapped under the strength of the man and he swung it around his head dangerously while shouting to Peter across the Courtyard.

"**THE YOUNG MASTER DOESN'T GIVE ME INJECTIONS EVERYDAY!"**

Peter jumped away from the statue that the hedge came down and hit violently and looked at the crazy man below him before he jumped closer to the Manor. All the while, the spastic Gardener continued to swing around the plant.

"**THE YOUNG MASTER DOESN'T KILL MY FRIENDS!"**

He continued to scream and shout in fury as he followed Peter through the Courtyard and as Peter jumped to safety on the stone rails of the stairs. The Gardener stormed up and with his bare fist, punched the brick and stone, making the stairs crumble and fall away.

Peter had fear choking him; he was running out of places to run that was off the ground. The maniac was aiming to get him onto the earth.

"**THE ****YOUNG ****MASTER ****DOESN****'****T ****LOCK ****ME ****UP!****"**

Chunks of debris scattered everywhere and stone chips flew in every direction obscuring Wendy's view on the fight between the maniac and her brother.

She cringed back when she heard his voice shout out again.

"**I ****LOVE ****IT ****HERE! ****THAT****'****S****WHY****…" **his voice dropped off and he panted "I decided… I'd protect it."

A plume of white smoke filled the Courtyard, it was impossible to see in the dark and Wendy took her chance to jump down from the tree and run right past the blonde and jump up to the roof of the Manor to where her brother was.

He tossed her his whip and she secured it to her wrist and they waited for the dust to settle before they saw the man look up at them, his eyes wide.

"Is he a monster?" Wendy asked her Brother and Peter snorted "But he's such a moron compared to us."

They pulled the leather tight between them and Peter shouted "Let's go Wendy!" They jumped from the roof and towards the man making sure the leather between them stayed tight and Peter smirked as they jumped closer.

"Right in half" Peter cheered.

'**BANG'**

There was a loud crack that filled the air and Peter looked beside him and realised with horror that Wendy was falling. Blood was gushing out of her head and her face was full of shock before her eyes went dull and she began to plummet towards the earth.

They hot the dirt with a 'thud' and Peter's distraught scream echoed throughout the Courtyard. "WENDY!"

He fought the urge to cry and shout when he saw his sisters limp body covered in blood lying in the dust.

But even before Peter could even rush over and pick up the body of his beloved Sister, he saw the Gardener man come running towards him with his fist raised. Peter jumped back as the other man missed him by mere inches.

Peter back flipped away and stopped a distance away from him and fell back against the wall. There was another bang and Peter jumped away and saw a bullet hole in the stone beside him.

"Shit!" he growled "A Sniper?"

He looked towards the rooftops and murmured to himself "From the western Rooftop? That many shots? How many people are employed here?"

Peter suddenly felt vulnerable and outnumbered. It was dark and there were two maniacs on the loose. He had lost Jumbo and Wendy within a span of half an hour and he couldn't see what he was doing without his second set of eyes.

He looked back up to the rooftops before letting his whip drop. He swung it around it head and launched it towards the chimney to get a grip. Desperation was making him panic. "I'll leave the kid for later" he muttered launching himself up onto the roof and away from the dangerous earth.

He reached the rooftop and jumped down from the window where he was sure where the Sniper shot had come from.

"If I don't bring down the Sniper first" he muttered peering through the darkness. He saw a flash of light and a gasp escaped him and he stumbled back. "Where is that Sniper?" He cursed the pitch black and he looked around worriedly.

He stepped forward once more and the moonlight came back and Peter let another gasp escape him and a feeling of dread started to fill his chest.

There were rows upon rows of Rifles, sitting top of the rooftop where he had landed. There were all stacked neatly on gun stands.

The entire roof of the Phantomhive Manor was lined with Rifles.

Peter bent down in the silvery light to where about six Rifles lay on the roof. They had been used and he bent down to examine them.

"What the hell is this?" he exclaimed to himself outraged as he brushed a gun lightly.

He picked it up and with shock, realised that it was just a standard rifle. There were no scopes, just a plain Rifle.

He gritted his teeth together and his hands began to shake. "In one shot… From this distance?"

He strode to the end of the roof and gazed to the ground below him where he saw the bloody mess that had once been his Sister.

Grief gripped him when he saw the remains of Wendy and he tucked the cloak around himself tighter and let out his breath that went misty in the cold night. He looked back to the trees and thought to himself quietly;

"_I'm so sorry."_

His eye caught a gleam out his peripheral vision, light reflecting off a glass surface. On the rooftop opposite him, he saw a dark shadow bend down and scoop up two more rifles.

There was a loud **"****BLAM****" **and Peter jumped up and cried out in pain as the bullet hit him in the arm.

He jumped to his feet and scuttled over the roof top, letting out a cry; "Shit!"

He disappeared around a large white pillar on the roof and heard all the bullets ricochet off the stone.

Peter cringed back and glanced at his arm and saw it coated in dark red blood, he clutched at it with his free hand and dared himself to peek around the stone.

"I can't get closer this way" he murmured to himself peering into the darkness, "Just _how_many people are there?"

His keen sight caught a shadow looming on the opposite roof and his eyes widened in shock and he hissed "_**ONE!...**_Just One?"

Terror gripped his chest "No way!" he said to himself "That insane amount of Rifles…"

He gazed at all the Rifles lined up neatly around the entire Manor.

"Was simply to shorten the _Reload __Time!__"_

Peter groaned and looked back to a pointed roof ornament and growled; "It's just what Jumbo said. We'll have to temporarily split up."

With his blood coated hand, Peter launched out his whip towards the ornament and made it wrap around it. He tugged on it making sure it was secure and he muttered to himself desperately. "If I don't tell Dagger and the others…"

Peter launched himself from the roof and all the while… Thoughts echoed around his head; trying to make sense of the situation he had landed himself in.

_Random? It sure is weird_

_Even if they have a huge amount of Rifles, how come they can fire so accurately, and with such speed?_

_They are using these Rifles as if they are using them as handguns_

Peter looked back behind him and saw the shadow still standing there, the terror continued to escalate within him. Then dread.

He wasn't going to make it.

The other rooftop seemed so far away, it was slipping out of his grasp. He closed his eyes, ignoring the sharp pain in his arm and waited for the darkness.

'_I'm sorry Joker… So sorry Trickster, we… failed.'_

* * *

><p>Beast and Dagger spun around at the large bang.<p>

The raven haired Beast Tamer looked back to her blonde companion and said barely above a whisper; "There seems to be a bodyguard."

Dagger agreed nodding his head before continuing forward and opening the door to large, elegant hallway.

He snorted "This really is the kind of place you'd expect of a filthy rich noble."

He let Beast in behind him, "Let's leave the rest to our siblings, we'll look for the target."

They walked up to a massive flight of elegant marble stairs and with a tiny inward groan from both; they began the arduous trek up.

About halfway up, Dagger and Beast received a fright when the lights flickered on. They were greeted by a sandy blonde, haggard looking man standing at the top of the stairs.

His cold, blue eyes rested on them and his face twisted into a smirk and the cigarette in his mouth quirked to the side of his mouth. "Yo" he drawled "I was waiting for you."

He took one glance at Dagger and Beast and snorted, closing his eyes and looking down. He didn't look up when he said "The backyard and the side are being entertained by Finni and Mey Rin."

He let a rough chuckle escape him and he opened his eyes to glare at the Circus Folk.

"If you want to enter, aside from right here…"

Dagger knew it was a threat right away, acting on pure instinct; he reached inside his vest and withdrew several of his daggers and launched them to the man at the top of the stairs.

The moment the daggers were going to hit, the guard whipped out a frying pan that he had in his hand he was leaning against; He thrust it up in front of his face and barely escaped when the daggers ricocheted off the metal with several loud **'****clangs.****'**

"Hey!" he protested loudly with his eyes wide glaring at Dagger "That's dangerous! I was in the middle of talking."

Dagger stepped down a step and with a growl in her chest, Beast brandished her long Tamer whip and with deadly accuracy aimed it right at the still baffled man.

He jumped away when the tip of the whip hit the rails where he had been standing. There was a loud **'****crack****' **and the man shouted, getting annoyed "Heyyy! I'm not into that kinda thing you know!"

He jumped down to the bottom of the stairs and with a soft mutter under his breath he said "Everybody wants to live fast like Solomon Grundy." He shook his head disapprovingly "What a disgrace."

There was another set of footsteps that echoed through the hall and Dagger gazed over and saw another, younger man with vivid, honey coloured locks come walking over. His face was coated in dirt and blood but his eyes still held an animalistic gleam in them.

"Hey Finni" the other man drawled "Take one round of cannon."

With a horrified feeling bursting into life in his chest, Dagger saw the younger man walk up to the wall behind the stairs and lift up a large ornamental, statue head without any effort. Then _he__threw__it._Dagger jumped up against the railings of the stairs and Beast almost launched herself over them in her bid to escape.

The younger man, Finni didn't let up and he walked along the statue heads and continued to hurl them at the Cirques. Dagger and Beast turned tail and bolted down the stairs from the onslaught and Beast let a terrified cry escape her.

"Wai…" she called after Dagger.

Dagger jumped the last three steps and he shouted to the Tamer over his shoulder "Is this even possible!"

Beast looked down where she saw another head explode behind her and she launched from the stairs. Dagger gritted his teeth and spun around and launched several more knives to hit the younger man.

But he simply ducked behind another marble statue and the daggers bounced off harmlessly.

They escaped the room filled with white dust and Dagger coughed to Beast "We'll deal with them later! First we need to get the target."

Beast nodded "Gotcha, Why don't we search for the room from each side?"

They ran for the first available door and Dagger grasped the golden door handle and jiggled it and twisting it to open the door. The two burst into an empty room and Dagger poked his head in before there was a loud jingling sound.

Dagger gasped when he saw a length of string tied onto the door handle which was connected to another switch for a bell. He looked back to Beast "It's a trap! Big Sis, I'm so sorry."

Beast looked around in panic before she grabbed Dagger's arm and pulled him from the room. They began to race down the hallways with Beast leading the way before her sharp red eyes caught a gleam out of her peripheral vision.

She pulled out her whip and Dagger ducked with a surprised cry, she tied it around a picture frame and with dead accuracy and timing; she yanked the large picture from the wall and dropped it in front of her and Dagger just as a frenzy of bullets came from down the hall.

A maid with flaming crimson hair stood there in a plume of smoke holding a Rifle in each hand, both directed at Beast and Dagger. Her scarlet eyes were fixed on them and Dagger cried out "What do the maids carry around this place?"

Beast sneered at the maid before grabbing Dagger again and running down the hall "Let's get back Dagger!" she shouted. They thundered down the hall away from the gun wielding maid and back out to the main entrance where they were greeted by another unwanted presence.

The servant with the inhumane strength lifted up another marble head over his own and with a beaming smile on his face shouted; "The mice!"

"There he is again!" Dagger shouted and Beast yelled back to the Marksman "We'll go down." They avoided another head smashing which busted the stairs behind them and they reached the ground.

They raced out of the main room and Dagger panted to Beast "What the hell are they? No matter how you go about it, this place is strange."

Beast agreed with her sibling "Yeah, with all this, the Earl must be hiding somewhere."

They ran down another set of stairs leading into the darkness, Dagger looked sidewards to Beast when she said to him "This time we better retreat and meet up with Big Bro and the rest." Dagger nodded before adding in his panicked voice "We didn't have Boss with us today either." Beast hesitated and looked down '_…__Joker__' _she thought sadly.

They reached a door at the end of the hall and Beast kicked open the door and they gazed into the pitch blackness before them. "What's this?" she murmured. Before they could venture one more step, a light blazed to life and the first thing they saw; was the smartass with the smoke.

He grinned up at them with a strainer and some flour over a large mixing bowl "Getting down the stairs sure was hard wasn't it? Mr and Mrs Goose! This is the end of the Earth… Welcome to the Kitchen."

Beast didn't like the fact that she was being spoken down upon and she pulled out her whip and aimed it at the servant "Like you can afford to say that, facing us unarmed!" she shouted lunging forward with the whip.

The servant only smirked when he picked up a cutting board and used it as a shield against his head and when Beast had to curl back up her whip he sneered "The kitchen is the Chef's holy place where even the Butler can't raise his voice at him."

He flicked the smoke up and finished "There's also a lot of tools that the Butler doesn't know about."

Dagger pulled out his last knives and in a desperate bid, launched them at the servant but he only laughed and flicked up the table cloth capturing all the knives. He smirked at the Cirques before whipping the table cloth away which revealed a _huge_ gun.

With horror, Dagger and Beast stared at the massive gun with rounds and rounds of bullets. Before the servant could aim them up, Dagger threw himself at Beast and knocked her aside when a rapid fire of bullets streamed out.

It was like a machine.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Dagger shouted and the servant with his hair swept back dramatically answered in glee; "It's the latest weapon Mr Higham brought back from America" then his face became savage "Let's go."

He fired the gun up again and Dagger jumped away and pushed Beast away crying out "Big Sis!" over the commotion and the dust, he heard the servant continuing to speak "Most off all; Chefs have to be good with their hands… _So__savour__it__well.__"_

Another round of bullets came around and Dagger pushed Beast away again and through the thick cloud of white smoke, he saw a couple sparkles of silver glitter fall in front of him. There was a metallic shriek and a large table fell down in front of him, knocking Dagger clean out.

When the bullets ceased the servant looked around his ruined kitchen with a sheepish grin "I'll have to tell the young Master it's too early for mass production." He scratched the back his head and gazed at the mess, trying to think up a good enough excuse for his destruction.

From the rubble and smoke, Beast mumbled and lifted her head. She looked through the mess and with horror, she saw Dagger lying limp behind a large table. Adrenaline kicked in and she immediately thought _"__HE'S __DEAD!__"_

She didn't pause long enough to see his chest rising and falling, instead she scrambled up to her feet and she was seething in anger.

The servant smiled at her "I would've liked to meet a beauty like you while drinking lukewarm beer in a pub."

Beast let streams of tears fall down her face and she shrieked "I WONT FORGIVE YOU!" she uncoiled her whip yet again and with all her strength, she flicked it forward and burst a bag of flour on the kitchen top.

On top of the wall smoke, a cloud of flour rose into the air and she saw the servant duck under the table to escape the white cloud and her lethal whip.

"YOU PLAN ON FLEEING IN THIS STATE?" she continued to shriek trying to get the servant that she believed had killed Dagger.

Over her cracks of her whip, she heard the servant say unperturbed "Nope… Finni!"

Beast spun around and there was a massive 'bang' and she saw the wall being punched in. She saw the other, fairer servant standing there and the helped the other out.

"I told you from the start right" he called down to her "The kitchen holds many secrets."

….

Through the haze and the thick smog, the hole filled door swung open silently. There was a small sneeze and there was a choked whisper "I gotcha Dagger."

A long lithe arm appeared from the flour and grabbed hold of Dagger's blood spattered shirt. Dagger's limp body was dragged over the concrete and Trickster held the urge to cough and splutter.

Her hair was a tangled mess and to add flour and wall rubble it looked like curly, messy snow. More silver sparkles appeared around them and Trickster looked up through the cloud and whispered "I'll come back as fast as I can Beast."

She disappeared with Dagger in a shower of silver glitter.

…

"I'm done with the pre-cooking" the servant called down to Beast "I'll tell you one, the finer the 'flour' is cut, _the__better__it__burns.__"_

Beast let a gasp escape her and she whirled around and gazed at the powder filled kitchen and she gazed back at the two servants with large, red eyes.

The servant simply smirked evilly down to her through the rubble "If the concentration of flour in the air is really high, it's the same as exploding gas." He looked down into the flour filled kitchen "Do you know the story of the Minnesota wheat flour mill that blew 18 people into the afterlife?"

Beast reached out with her black gloved hand wanting to say something, but the flour clogged her throat and she ended up letting out a choked squeak instead.

Her mind whirled and tears began to stream down her face. She spun around and raced back to where Dagger had fallen and she pushed aside the tables looking for her beloved brother.

"No!" she sobbed "This cant end like this."

She searched for Daggers body through the thick white flour but to no avail and all she heard was the servant's long drawl. "I'm sorry Miss." She turned her head and saw a sparkle of flames being lit up from a match and that was it.

With an almighty _**'**__**BANG**__**' **_**…** The kitchen was blown into oblivion.


	7. Misery

**Hi guys, another update... Quite short but I really want to get further into the story, so I had to finish this ark up quickly so I can begin the next one. **

**Just another note as well, as it says in the summary, Tricky STARTED on the plot of the Noah's Ark Circus in the Manga; and after much contemplating; this story seems like it will go onto the path of the anime due to the characters in this story and the way it is going. I dont think the Manga plotline will fit this story.**

**So anime here we go... after this chapter of course. So readers, if you want to contribute; what episode could this story come onto? I dont want to start on the very first episode of the anime, so what do you think would be ideal for Trickster and her unconscious Cirque friend?**

**Let me know**

**And as always, leave your feedback and your lovely, lovely reviews :)**

**ENJOY**

* * *

><p>Trickster watched in horror as she watched the explosion go sky high "No" she whispered in horror as the flames illuminated the night sky. "Beast" she gasped unable to stop the tears jumping to her eyes.<p>

Grief hit her like a whiplash and she let out a choked sob as she tried to combat the tears.

She bent down and put her head on Dagger's chest and clutched at his checkered vest with her hands. "Why Dagger! Why?" she cried "What was this supposed to accomplish?" the tears finally fell and they fell onto Dagger's bloodstained shirt and although very quiet, Trickster heard his breathing.

At least he was alive.

But who else was?

Trickster looked back up to the carnage of the Manor, the building still flaming before she decided she get up to her feet. She gently placed Dagger back onto the grass and pulled over the long branches of a shrub to cover him.

She leant back down and pressed her forehead to his and whispered a soft prayer to protect him while she was gone before getting to her feet. Her lacy dress fluttered in the slight breeze as she strode forward through the trees and back towards the mansion.

The kitchen: Beast had died in there

She circled around and started to walk towards the courtyard before she noticed the brick wall. A large hole was gaping in it and she noticed brightly coloured pants that had belonged to Jumbo. The brickwork that lay scattered around him was brightly covered in blood.

He died before he even got into the Mansion.

Trickster raced along the wall in the darkness before she froze and flattened herself against the bricks when she heard footsteps and voices. Panic rushed through her she strained her ears to listen in, to see whether or not she was in immediate danger.

Adrenaline pounded through her veins when the footsteps came closer and she was able to make words out.

"Do you think we got everybody? A young male voice came out through the inky blackness "We protected Miss Elizabeth and we stopped the intruders!"

"We done exactly what Sebastian told us to, yes we did" a female voice answered the first voice "It is our job to do what our Young Master wants us to do."

The first voice rang out almost boastfully; "Well I say we did a job well done, … I think; does that mean we get to go back to bed? I'm so tired."

At this certain exclamation an older, rougher voice came out warningly "You know we cant do that Finni! Sebastian will roast us alive! For we all know there could be someone out there listening to us right now."

Trickster heaved in a panicked breath, she had to run away and hide but her memory was pounding. She had heard that kind of name before. Her mind reeled before her memory jerked back into action as she remembered Smile 'Or Ciel' used the name 'Finnian.'

Finni must be a nickname, belonging to a servant.

She began to slide down the wall, praying her hardest not to be heard. All she wanted to do now was to get back to Dagger and pull him to safety. She looked back to the alcove of trees in the direction she had left her friend and lost focus of the ground below her. That's when she stepped on a twig.

In the dead silence of night, a snapping twig sounded like a cracker. It went off like a bang in the night and everything that seemed to move or breath went still.

Within an instant, the people around the wall readied themselves and Trickster heard the distinct sound of guns being before the pounding footsteps as the servants rushed forward.

Fright filled the Illusionist and she quickly looked around for an easy escape route.

Which was far out of her reach.

There was no way she was able to get run and get away before the servants rushed around the corner and saw her disappearing. They would catch her; Trickster's heart clogged in her throat and a stray tear rolled down her cheek.

Her thoughts whirled around in her head in a panicked daze before she fell back against the wall with a soft 'thud.' The footsteps came closer and closer and her expert hearing could even pick up their rapid breaths.

Was she going to die?

'_No' _her mind howled at her and Trickster felt her magic rush around her veins, warming her up before she saw the world around her begin shrinking. She fell towards the earth and fell onto all fours and the small feline squashed itself against the wall as the servants appeared, their eyes vicious and looking for an intruder.

Their gaze fell on the small black cat against the wall with large frightened eyes and the female with flaming crimson hair pulled back her large, round glasses.

"It's a cat, it is" she said looking to her two comrades.

The eldest out of the males snorted and swivelled his cigarette to the other side of his mouth and carelessly tossed his hand in the direction of the cat. "It must be the cat that lives on the grounds that Sebastian always feeds."

The honey gold male looked up at him with wide blue eyes, "How do you know that?" he asked only to cringe back when the older one shouted down to him "Because I see him doing it al'ight!"

Trickster was shaking so bad from the fright that was pulsing through her that when she tried to meow all that came out was a strangled "Mi-ao?" it was barely a squeak and the younger boy bent down and said in a soft voice, "The poor thing is terrified, Can we keep it Bard?" he begged.

"We cant do that!" The female squawked "The Young Master is allergic, he wont be happy if we done that."

The young one, Finni; his face fell and he came over and bent down to Trickster "But its so cute, we cant leave it out here." He pushed his hand closer and Trickster let her instaincts take over; a sharp hiss escaped her and she bared her teeth before making her quick escape into the trees. Leaving the three servants behind.

That was close, she had been lucky this time.

Running through the courtyard towards the entrance of the Manor, The Cat was able to see the blood spattered body of Wendy sprawled awakwardly on the dirt. Blood was pooled around her head and Trickster felt her stomach clench as she realised that her dainty little paws had stepped in the sticky red mess.

A small meow escaped her and she jumped back from the body of her fallen sister and she looked back up to the looming mansion. She had to see the body of Peter so she knew.

Though it hurt.

She shut her eyes and listened with her soul.

Before she opened her large violet eyes and looked up to the other wind of the Manor. She dashed her way over to it and easily climbed the lattice going up the brickwork and to the windows. She crept along the ledges and paused when she saw a window smashed in.

She ducked back when an elderly man walked past holding a small candle and he walked down the stairs. When the light disappeared, The Cat jumped into the hallway of the Mansion and froze.

She had landed in another pool of blood and she saw the body of Peter.

The Fool

She crept around the body and saw the young boys eyes still open, she was still able to see the fright and the shock emblazed on the young boy's face. Her stomach twisted into an even tighter knot and with a soft paw, Trickster pulled down the eyelids of her brother.

She looked back to a door that was slightly left ajar and she walked to it, her curiousity burning. This must have been the target, Peter must have nearly gotten to it before he was shot down. Without realising, Trickster walked into the bedroom, leaving bloody paw prints leading into the bedroom.

She pushed her way in, silent as a shadow and leapt up onto the bed where she saw a wild array of golden curls and the sleeping form of a young girl. She seemed so peaceful, not having to worry about the horrors of the world; Living the high life while the rest suffered.

Trickster walked over the satin quilts and back onto the floor and to the window where it was also left slightly ajar to allow a breeze. She jumped up and sat on the sill watching the terraces and forests beyond the Manor.

They were dead.

Dagger was alive

Doll? She didn't know

And Joker?

Trickster fought the urge to meow loudly into the darkness, she didn't want to risk waking up the girl and having to be chased out or captured. She sat there for a moment before her ears pricked up in alertness.

She spun around and saw the golden glow of candle light coming back up the stairs and she felt sick. _'Not again.'_

She looked down the windowsill and saw a path of ledges leading down to the terrace. Before the light came to the door, The Cat leapt down to the lower ledge below her and continued the action until she reached the grass and bolted for the trees.

…

Up in the Mansion, the light lit up the room and the elderly Butler looked back down to the small body of the Circus Performer and noticed small, bloody paw prints leading into the guest room where Elizabeth was sleeping. The Butler walked over the body and into the room and with growing concern, saw the paw prints over the floor; then up onto the white sheets. It had left a trail of blood and it was so close to the Young Master's fiancée.

He looked to the window and walked around to it and peered out to the terrace and saw nothing. The young Master didn't own a cat, yet there was one lurking around this house.

…

Trickster reached the trees before she stopped and another meow escaped her. Her fur began to shrink away and her limbs elongated and her human form slumped over the grass. Her long brunette tresses fell out of her headband and ponytail and hung over her shoulder.

She let a cry escape her and the tears flooded down her face. She had not cried like this in a long time and the grief was overwhelming her. Her family was gone, Joker; the man she loved was gone as well. The part that hurt the most was that she didn't even know if he was alive.

Through her tears Trickster was hit with another awful thought that had whispered cruelly in her conscience.

"_I never told him that I loved him."_

More tears fell and another sob escaped her, everyone knew that Joker and her had eyes for only eachother but they had never confessed-…No!

Trickster lifted her head and Joker's last words echoed in her head; _"I love my Angel."_

She had never told the exuberant Red-Head her undying love and devotion she had for him. After she had failed in protecting him.

The Illusionist gazed back up to the and cried from the inner core of her soul and she cried; "I'm so sorry Joker, I wished I told you that I loved you…" her voice dropped to a whisper _"Loved you so much." _

Trickster drowned in her sorrows and she fell back onto her hands and cried onto the grass. Under her tears, small sprouts and tiny flowers sprung up from under the tears, but Trickster gave no notice. How could she bring so much love and life when she couldn't have it to herself?

She could have stopped everyone from dying, if she had tried harder, changed the outcomes and stopped the people she loved from being killed.

Minutes passed and eventually, a distraught Trickster's tears dried up until she couldn't cry anymore. Her temples pounded and her skull felt tight. The misery was still crushing her but a tiny voice kept repeating itself in her head that she should get back to Dagger.

She sat there for another moment feeling numb, before she heaved herself up and stood to unsteady feet. She shuffled around the trees, not particularly caring if she got caught this time. She had seen to much carnage and death.

The family she always wished she had was gone and she had fractured remains left. The golden life she had, to be dirtied when she stepped foot on the earth for her love. Only to have it cruelly taken away from her.

She could sweat that she heard the taunting, _'told you so.'_

She wandered past the trees, using Dagger's faint life force to lead her to him. When she reached where she left him, she got a rather nasty shock.

Dagger wasn't there.

Trickster's blank mind suddenly whirled around and snapped back into action. She spun around looking for him before she fell to her knees and ripped apart the shrub still finding no Dagger. _"No!" _she thought horrified _"An unconscious person CANNOT get up and walk away!" _

She scanned the ground for blood trails and failed, her breath came in rapid gasps and she breathed out in panic; "Dagger; where ARE you!"

She scrambled up to her feet and scanned out with her mind to detect Dagger's life force and found it not to far away, just out from the trees. She started to run forward, her panic for her friend quenching her fear.

Just out from the line of trees, her fine hearing caught on to some voice which she recognised. "I _told _you, take the body of his companion and flush him out."

Trickster pushed the tree branches aside and rushed out only to skid her sparkling shoes in the dust and stop dead at the sight before her.

She saw the three servants over the body of Dagger, who lie sprawled out on the grass as if he had been tossed there.

Anger lit up in her violet eyes and she saw the older, blonde haired servant stare at her, letting his cigarette fall out of his mouth.

"Or her" he said in surprise.

…

Trickster let a cry of fury escape her and she darted forward, letting shadows erupt around her and knock back the servants. She fell to her knees and picked up Dagger's head and torso and pushed his bloody face into the frills and silk of her corset.

She gazed at everyone fearfully as they came back over and she shielded Dagger with her own body. She shied away as the older man bent down to her level and he said in a rough English voice "What are you doing trespassin' on these grounds missy?"

Trickster began to shake and she clutched Dagger's head firmly before she blubbered "Had to save family, Dagger only one. Had to save them."

"She must have been part of the Circus!" the young servant Finni exclaimed; his voice somewhat in between suspicion and excitement.

"Are you here to kill anybody?" the older one said and Trickster got up onto her knees and began to drag Dagger's dead weight over the grass, "Save Dagger" she panicked "Leave us alone!" the servant chuckled before standing back up and glaring down to them.

"Sorry I cant do that."

Trickster knew she wouldn't be able to even lift Dagger, let alone carry him. She would either have to abandon him or stick around and they can both be killed. She knew she couldn't beg for Dagger's life and let them kill her. Because pricks like that never keep their promises.

"Hey" the red head female squawked, pointing up the dirt drive way. "It's the young Master!" Suddenly Trickster was left alone with the still dead weight of Dagger; she took the opportunity to lower hear fine ears to listen for his breathing. It was so faint and his life force was fading, if she didn't do anything now, she was going to lose Dagger as well.

Trickster panicked more and a shaky cry escaped her "No Dagger!" she yelped "Stay with me, _stay with me_."

She sensed a shadow loom over her and she looked back up, yanking Dagger's head back to her chest and felt her heart drop.

She saw Ciel Phantomhive covered in blood and tired, being carried bridal style by his Butler Sebastian.

Ciel's eyes widened when he saw her and he struggled up to glare at her. "Trickster?"

The Illusionist sprung up, leaving Dagger in the grass and she shrieked "You, you killed my family! I have nobody! Its all you fault and now I'm going to lose Dagger as well!" Her voice rose to a shriek and Ciel shouted at her.

"Eloise!"

Ignoring her name, Trickster spun around and bent down to pick up Dagger when she heard Ciel, "Apprehend her!"

The servants all moved forward and with insane speed, Trickster leapt over Dagger and done some neat backflips away and stood some distance away from the others.

The last of her hair fell out and it billowed around her like a large halo, it was easily waist length and it spun around her in a malicious manner.

She was on the defensive and now she had to get back to Dagger and save him before he died. She watched each of her enemies like a hawk and every move they made, she made a counter attack and avoided their grasp.

When she saw Sebastian set down Ciel that's when she stiffened, she sensed his malignant aura surrounding her. He could kill her, but she would spit on the fires of hell if she was not going down without a fight first.

She hesitated about Dagger again and it broke her heart more to leave him behind. But she couldn't protect him without her being killed. It would be devastating if she sacrificed herself and Dagger died anyway.

She head Ciel yell to Sebastian as the Butler stepped forward "I want her back alive Sebastian. That is an order."

Trickster saw Sebastian's eyes glow a vivid shade of pink and saw his sharp pointed teeth and her mind shrieked at her. _"DEMON!"_

Of course!

Her instincts kicked into action and she drew the magic around herself and then pushed it out knocking everybody off their feet before she fled for the trees.

She ran for dear life, her feet barely hitting the ground. The scenery whizzed by her and even though she was running as fast as she could, she could sense the Demon aura only steps behind her. Demon's had always been a natural enemy and it was orders to kill them on sight.

Her and Sebastian would be matched on skills and abilities, Eloise had killed her fair share of Demons but Sebastian almost seemed different from the others she had slaughtered. She managed to keep a few steps ahead of him but then again, she was in this pathetic, useless body with a glass leg.

She bolted for her life before she realised that everything was silent. She ranged out her senses and realised that she wasn't being persued anymore. The Demon had stopped and she was by herself. She halted her running and looked around the trees, with her heart thumping heavily in her chest.

She fought for her breath and she looked around again, letting her senses down slightly.

Which she shouldn't have done.

Trying to steady down her rapid breathing, Eloise didn't hear the rustle in the trees and as she looked up she saw a black, feathered being pounce down from the branches with malicious pink eyes. She let a shriek rip her throat before she was engulfed in darkness.


	8. Trickster to Eloise

**Another update :) You may see this as a filler of somesort, but it will revolve around Trickster- now Eloise and her injured companion Dagger. The story is coming along nicely and I'm getting the plot all sorted out and fixing the tweaks.**

**I'm still open to ideas though, so feel free to pop in and drop what you think.**

**Unlike many stories, 'Tricky' is a story that will integrate the Circus into the Anime. Even though I shall refer back to the manga every once and a while. So those of you who loved the Circus, this will be the story for you. **

**So refer it to communities or to other readers, I would love to this story popular in the fandom.**

**As always, I love the reviews. Feel free to leave one, I enjoy reading them :)**

**ENJOY**

* * *

><p><em>The world spun around her, she felt dizzy, disorientated and nauseous.<em>

_Trickster groaned and got up, rubbing her forehead miserably. She stretched out slowly before pausing and realising that she was staring at the very familiar and decorated backdrop of her tent. Though it was a very comforting feeling, Trickster felt like it was wrong and a small voice whispered in her mind:_

"Hang on a minute_"_

_She whipped her head around and recognised everything around her. It was indeed her tent, everything was...normal, just as she remembered it. She was home._

_She sat there dumbstruck for another couple of moments, trying to comprehend what was going on before the front of her tent was flung open._

_She jumped from her familiar mounds of patterned quilts and blankets and into the air yelping in fright before she fell back and gaped stupidly at the sight before her._

_Somebody walked in and Trickster was unable to utter a word as she sat there frozen. She opened her mouth, then shut it only to open it again and realising that her voice had fled her._

_There was an amused laugh_

"_The Cat got your tongue Princess? Looks like you have seen a ghost."_

_Joker strode into the tent, his vivid red hair spiking and falling in his handsome tattooed face. He gazed at Trickster mischievously through her calm grey eyes and chuckled again. "Or are you just glad to see me?"_

_Finally Trickster caught her voice and reined it in: "Joker" she breathed "Y-You're here?"_

_He looked confused "Of course I am?"_

_Then the Illusionist blubbered "Joker! I had a horrible dream. Everyone was killed by Black and Smile, they were imposters and they betrayed us!"_

_Joker stared at her distraught face and in turn his own face twisted in confusion and concern. "I have no idea what you are on about Ell, everything is fine. Are you alright?" he shook his head "Who on earth is Black and Smile?"_

_Before Trickster could blather on again, her mind froze and her heart thumped painfully in her chest. She didn't want to believe just yet._

"_We picked them up while we were in London remember?" she questioned "Smile is bunking in with Doll and-…"_

_Joker held out his hand to silence the Illusionist before speaking up "Eloise- We have been in London all week, we haven't picked up anybody. Everyone is ok."_

_Trickster didn't want to believe her ears but she was certain that her eyes were not deceiving her. Joker was alive and well. Smile and Black- or more Ciel and Sebastian did not exist. Everything was normal._

_It was just an awful dream_

_Excitement and relief pooled in Trickster's stomach and she threw aside her faded blankets and jumped from the bed and threw herself at Joker. She wrapped her arms around him and began to squeeze him in a suffocating embrace._

_She couldn't help herself but to start to cry on his shoulder and Joker softly returned the hug and whispered in her ear "Was it that bad?" Trickster nodded and began to sniffle pathetically "I truly thought I lost you" she breathed reaching up and caressing his red locks. "It seemed so real and- and it made me realise something that I regretted not telling you before."_

"_What's that?" came the question and Trickster pulled away from the shoulder and looked Joker in the eye "I never told you that I loved you." _

_She said it outright and bluntly and it wasn't until she voiced it that fear began to pool in her stomach. Had she been to outright? Did Joker return her feelings?_

_She sucked in her breath and after a moment Joker's eyes softened considerably and he drew Trickster's head close to kiss the top of her tousled brown hair. "I have always known that Princess, don't look so frightened, I love you more than Heaven and Earth combined, even Fate couldn't keep us apart."_

_Trickster pushed herself back against Joker and hugged him fiercely, crushing her face against his chest and they stayed like that for another couple of moments before a shocked voice erupted from the front of the Illusionist Tent._

"_Eww Affection!"_

_Both Joker and Trickster pulled apart and spun around to the front where they were greeted by the sight of Dagger leaning casually against the tent pole. He didn't have his performance gear on, instead opting to wear comfortable day clothes and letting his caramel hair flutter in the breeze._

"_You guys coming out for breakfast or not? Its first in best dressed you know"_

_Trickster in a blank moment went to blurt out that she wasn't dressed but when she looked down at herself, she realised that she was dressed in her usual ragdoll outfit. Nothing serious clicked in her mind and she simply shrugged it off as falling asleep before getting changed the night before._

_With a content sigh, she locked arms with Joker and leant her head against his shoulder as they walked to the front of the tent and Dagger fell into step beside them as they strode in the direction of the mess hall._

_As they walked into the large tent, Trickster was overwhelmed with familiar faces and she couldn't help but feel relieved when she saw her family that she had been sure she had lost. A large grin spread across the length of her face and she beamed up at Joker happily._

_Out of the milling Cirques and Beginners, Doll bounded out, her messy blonde hair falling in front of her burnt side of her face. She grinned at them "It's about time you guys got up and come here for breakfast, I had to fight tooth and nail to keep you guys some of the good stuff."_

_She pushed her way back through the crowd and Dagger put his hands on his belly and beamed back to Trickster and Joker, "Thank god for that Doll, I'm starving." He went to the crowd and using his best authorative voice began to clear a path to the breakfast table._

_Everybody moved naturally for the Tier members anyway and the three received all awe inspiring gazes from the Beginners as they walked through the mills of Cirques. Doll handed them their plates and they walked around the crowd to where the benches where._

_That's when Trickster saw Peter:_

_Yelling at Wendy and Jumbo._

_Although it was a usual thing and everybody had gotten used to Peter's rants, this time; it angered Trickster and she felt a surge of burning anger towards the young Trapeze Artist. She didn't know why she was so upset with him; maybe because he was the instigator of everybody's death in her dream. It was his fault and his fault alone._

_Trickster looked back to Joker and Dagger who were watching the scene with bored eyes before she spoke, gesturing them away as she handed her plate to the red head "You go on, I'll catch up; there's something I have to do first."_

_She left the two to find their seats and she made her way to the other three Cirque Tiers and stood over Peter, her violet eyes blazing in anger. _

_Wendy stepped back and her brother rolled his eyes onto the Illusionist and snapped rudely "What do _you _want?"_

_After his crude question, Trickster lifted her arm and then with some force behind it; she slapped Peter clean across the face._

_The sharp sound resonated around the tent and everyone went silent, staring at the scene before them._

_Wendy looked half between smiling or crying, unshed tears still glistening on her eyes as she looked up to Trickster. Then from the crowd another Cirque called out "Good Riddance. He deserved it!"_

_Trickster glared down at Peter and said in a heated voice "You are NOT the Boss Peter and you never were. So stop bossing everybody around, because don't expect us to go following your orders ever again."_

_She then spun on her heels and strode away from a dumbstruck Peter, who had put his hand over his stinging cheek before he turned to his sister and muttered "What is she on about?"_

_She went back to Joker and Dagger who had sat at a bench with Doll and Beast and sat in between the boys and began to poke at her breakfast with her fork. _

"_I suppose Peter needed that sooner than later" Dagger said amusedly, shovelling his breakfast into his mouth "He is always bossing everyone around like he is the boss! As if!"_

_As the Marksman spoke, Joker gazed at him disapprovingly and said in a flat voice "I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak with your mouth full." His gaze went down to his breakfast "I think mine is covered in yours."_

_Dagger smiled sheepishly "Sorry" he said, with his still full and Joker rolled his eyes and stabbed the food with his fork and shoved it in his own mouth. _

_Trickster ate hers neatly and kept to herself while the other Cirques conversed and laughed over the table. This was her favourite part of the circus, besides Performing; she just loved being around the other Cirques and generally being a family._

_All her bad memories from her dream began to diminish and she stopped worrying about them until Breakfast had stopped and Joker had called a Tier meeting. _

_That's when everything was- off._

_The Tiers all gathered in the Big Top to discuss 'Business' on their next mission. Trickster didn't like being part of this but she listened anyway, until her keen eyesight began to catch things that were starting to scare her._

_It started when Joker started to scratch his arm._

_He kept fiddling and scratching until Trickster walked over to investigate what was bothering him. She rolled up his shirt sleeve and with horror, saw a bloody gash ringed right around the girth of his upper arm._

_The dark red scabs peeled right off and started to bleed profusely. His lower arm began to turn a nasty shade of purple before it began to rot off in front of her eyes. She cried out in horror and jumped back and Joker rolled his head towards her._

"_What's the matter Princess? Is this bothering you?"_

_Trickster backed away from the Ringleader and cried out for the others until she noticed them as well. _

_The Trapeze Artists Peter and Wendy were bleeding from the head, their golden locks stained red. Their eyes had rolled back into their heads and Jumbo had stepped forward with the back of his head in a mangled mess._

_Trickster let a shriek escape her; this couldn't be happening. No- please. Why her?_

_Doll and Dagger had started to go black and blue with multiple bruising's, changing the colour of their skin all over. _

_She looked up fearfully when the skeletal arm that belonged to Joker grasped her arm. "This is what happened to us Trickster" he drawled "Because you didn't save us. This is your fault." Suddenly; behind everybody, the Big Top went up in flames destroying everything that had belonged to the Circus._

_From the eerie orange light, Trickster saw Beast standing with her back to her. Then slowly she turned around and the Illusionist saw the Tamer's beautiful black hair start burning and falling out. Her skin was melting right off her skeleton as she burned and an unearthly shriek filled the area._

_The putrid stench stung Trickster's nose and at the top of her lungs; she screamed._

* * *

><p>She sat bolt right up in blackness screeching as loudly as she could. She didn't recognise where she was and she was growing more hysterical by the moment.<p>

She _had _been dreaming, her mind playing cruel jokes on her. It wasn't fair.

Her screaming finally roused somebody and the door opened revealing Sebastian holding a candle. The small light illuminated an unfamiliar room and he began to speak in his smooth voice.

"Eloise, I request that you be silent, we do not want to wake up the young Master."

"I want to go home" Trickster whimpered clutching at the blankets "I want my family; I want everything to be normal again."

Sebastian shut the door behind him and walked to the bed "A little selfish there? You can't change everything because you want it to." He sat the candle on the bedside table and Trickster cried "They were all alive, everything was normal then they all started to bleed and fall apart, right in front of me!"

"You're delirious" Sebastian said standing beside her "You have been asleep for two days; it is currently the early morning of the third day. Your dreams have been bothering you?"

Trickster twisted the blanket in her hands before she gasped and sobbed to the Butler "Where's Dagger? Is he ok?"

"He's…alive" Sebastian admitted slowly.

"You hesitated…Why the hesitation? Trickster said alarmed and Sebastian said bluntly "He is in a much worse condition than what I previously thought. He was shot in the chest and is currently in a coma. I don't know when he will wake up and if it is not soon, I have to take him to the hospital."

Trickster fell silent and her heart dropped; Dagger might not live. She looked up "I have to go see him."

"No" Sebastian said "It is currently two thirty in the morning and everybody in the Manor is still asleep. You are still delirious Eloise, go back to sleep and I shall see you in the morning."

He picked the candle back up and left the room closing the door behind him, leaving a distraught Trickster in mounds of pillows and blankets.

As she settled back down, she fervently hoped that nightmare would never come back.

* * *

><p>"She's been in there for three days without eatin' or drinkin' a thing she 'as."<p>

Mey-Rin peeked inside and saw the dark room that the Ex Cirque resided in, pushing the door further and further before she sensed something behind her.

She spun around and 'eeped' when she was greeted by the sight of Ciel and Sebastian staring at her disapprovingly.

"Thought I would try and rouse Trickster yes I did" she started pathetically but she was cut off by Ciel's stern, angry voice; "Mey-Rin! Her name is not 'Trickster.' That is a pathetic name given to her by the Circus. You shall address her by her actual name of 'Eloise.' Treat her as a human."

Ciel spun around on his polished boots and walked down the corridor calling out to his Butler "Sebastian, get her out of the bedroom. I need to speak with her…Immediately."

* * *

><p>There was a slight rap on the door.<p>

"Miss Eloise, the Master requests your presence."

'Eloise' looked up miserably from her unfamiliar blankets and her face contorted in anger. She watched the door open and Sebastian walked in and shut it behind him with a fake smile across his face.

"Don't smirk at me" Eloise said coldly "I know your whole façade is just a fake." She turned her head to stare at the wall.

"I'm afraid I can't leave until you agree to come with me to see to see the Young Master."

Sebastian's voice sounded a little irked and a tick mark appeared on his forehead when Eloise sniffed and snapped back.

"If he wants to speak with me, he can come _here _and talk to me himself."

There was a gush of wind through the room and a squeak of fright escaped her when Sebastian's eerie and flawless face appeared in front of hers and came closer and closer.

"Unfortunately Miss Eloise, I am a Butler not a messenger. Now I suggest you get ready and come with me to see the Master. He wants you out of the bedroom."

"How do you expect me to get ready?" Eloise exclaimed holding out her arms and gesturing to the raggedy, bloodstained shirt she was wearing. "The only clothes I have are the ones I owned in the Circus, stained in the blood of my family when they were slew."

Sebastian sighed and strode from the bed to the closet and pulled it open to inspect what was inside. "I will see to it that you have adequate clothing Miss Eloise. You would have showered I sincerely hope?"

Eloise blushed and nodded furiously; "Of course I did, the stains just didn't… come out."

Sebastian didn't reply, instead he pulled a light, lilac gown from the closet and turned it around to show her. "You do not have a need to have Circus clothing Eloise; I shall dispose of the outfit after you have changed.

Alarm filled her and Eloise exclaimed in horror "No! It's all I have left; please don't take them away from me." Eloise was appalled at herself at how pleading her voice was, but the idea of ridding her of the Cirque clothing was unbearable.

Sebastian shook his head and pulled the dressing rails from beside the closet and set them out before hanging the gown over them. He went to the drawers and pulled out some undergarments, a flowing white gown and a pearly corset.

He looked to Eloise; "Undress."

Eloise paled; "Excuse me?"

She looked at Sebastian incredulously as if he had just sprouted another head and the Butler seemed unhindered "I'm here to make you look respectable in a Noble's presence, now, do not ignore me."

"B-B-But" Eloise sputtered "You're a man."

Sebastian arched a delicate brow "Yes?"

"I'm a girl! I can't get changed with you in the room!"

Sebastian's eyebrow twitched in annoyance; "By the time you stop making excuses, we could have gotten you changed and off to see the Master. Now stop dallying, take the gown and get changed. I shall assist you in getting the corset on."

Eloise pouted, throwing the blankets aside and striding up to the Butler and yanking the undergarments of him. She went behind the dressing panels to force herself into it. After a moment Sebastian rapped on the panels and Eloise stepped out and eyed the corset wearily. The Butler shook his head and wrapped the corset around the former Cirque.

When he reached the drawstrings, he pulled tight and Eloise gasped and made a strangled, gurgling noise.

"That's not how you do a corset!" she wheezed.

"The corsets you are used to were for fashionable show, they only made unreasonable men ogle you. These however, are the proper corsets used to shape women so they can wear their gowns."

Eloise didn't like how much Sebastian knew.

Asshole

Sebastian tightened the corset tighter Eloise could barely draw a breath and the Butler helped her into her purple dress and tied the satin ribbons at the back.

He led the Cirque to the mirror and Eloise wondered if the reflection was actually her.

Sure she had looked stunning when she was all dolled up for performance in her sparkling Circus outfit but outside of the razzle-dazzle she had simply looked like a dag.

Ragdoll everybody had called their mismatched, patched clothing.

But now?

Eloise looked…nice. Simple but nice.

No make-up, no painful jewelled headbands, no pins or clips.

She leant forward and touched all the little jewelled diamantes embedded in her face, they weren't going to come out.

Her gaze wandered to her mop of long hair and in haste, tried to smooth down the frizz in embarrassment.

Sebastian appeared next to her and handed her a hairbrush and an assortment of clips and headbands and Eloise, with practised effort wrapped her waist length brown hair around her head clipping it in before finishing it off in a large, sweeping ponytail.

The Butler nodded at her appearance before looking to Eloise and asking; "You aren't used to this are you?"

She nodded and out of habit, her gaze wandered down to the prosthetic part of her hand and the flawless ceramic foot poking out from under the gown.

'_So much I had to sacrifice' _she thought sadly.

Sebastian grabbed her arm gently:

"The Master is waiting, now that you are dressed respectably."

He led her from the room and down the hallway where Eloise's delicate sense of smell detected the distinct odour of something burning.

Sebastian opened the door and let Eloise in and she saw Ciel seated in a massive seat at his desk. Compared to everything around him, Ciel was so…small.

Sebastian knocked on the open door gently and Ciel's hard voice rung through the room "Come in." They stepped in and Ciel looked directly at Sebastian "Go and fix up those three oafs down the hall, they have made nothing but racket for the last ten minutes."

"Of course" Sebastian bowed his head and left the room, leaving Eloise with the Master- Ciel. After an awkward moment, Ciel left his seat and said briskly to her "Come forward."

The boy leant casually on his desk, propping himself up on it.

Eloise didn't like being ordered around, especially by a child. Past experience taught her that, no matter the circumstance; she was still the adult.

She moved forward reluctantly and Ciel remained silent until the Cirque couldn't contain herself and she blurted out what she had been worrying about.

"You're not going to have me arrested are you?"

Ciel gazed up at Eloise and shook his head "You have done nothing wrong, neither of you did. Your family was killed on a result that they broke into the Manor and harm my family and your 'Joker' was hurt and killed on his act to harm me."

Eloise fought with the urge to cry, Joker wouldn't have been killed after she helped him. Ciel was simply trying to evoke a reaction out of her. It didn't stop her lower lip from trembling; Ciel spoke of killing so naturally; whereas Eloise had never had the intent to hurt anybody before. She only nodded when Ciel continued to speak. She lowered her head and let loose hair fall in her face.

"With you Eloise-…" Ciel began before he snapped coldly "look at me while I am speaking to you!"

She lifted her head

"You and your injured companion are the only members alive to my knowledge. The last people I saw was 'Joker' and the freckles- 'Doll.' After I left I did not see them."

He got off his desk and walked to her "I can assure you that you will not come under any harm from anybody in this Manor."

Eloise began to wonder what Ciel was trying to get to.

"A person with your… uncanny abilities could be of use to me. Since you have nowhere to go; you will work for me if you are to stay under this roof."

Eloise was dumbstruck, but Ciel was right, she had nowhere to go. She didn't have a choice.


	9. Pluto, News and a Hella lotta Flour

**Hiiii everyone o.O**

**Man i sound and feel like an idiot for doing this but yeah... **

**This is the actual Chapter Nine, I was going over the chapters and realised that i had made a mistake :/ **

**I had uploaded Chapter 10 instead of 9.**

**So i deleted 10 and uploaded 9 so i will update 10 again...**

**Please forgive my silly mistake and enjoy :)**

* * *

><p>Eloise hoisted up the water buckets and made her way to the front door. After many twists and turns she had finally found her way and continued on to open the large doors.<p>

She shut her eyes under the harsh glare of the sun and she promptly put down the buckets, sloshing water over the sides of the buckets and splashing onto the stairs.

"Can't believe I have been reduced to a lowly maid" she thought vehemently "Me! A first Tier Cirque of the Noah's Ark Circus, a maid doing lowly chores!"

She continued to grumble to herself, dropping down onto her knees and pulling out a scrubbing brush and began to clean the front stairs.

Two days ago, Ciel had ordered her to work; now Trickster the Illusionist did not exist; Eloise- A Phantomhive Maid had taken the place and Eloise was embarrassed and ashamed.

She scrubbed the stairs furiously, absorbed in thought and didn't realise the Gardener Finni walking from the Garden.

"Hiya new friend" he cheered and Eloise looked up startled.

Her eyes grew wide when she saw a huge, lumbering dog behind the Gardener and The Cat inside her shrieked with fright.

Eloise scooted back knocking over one of the water buckets, sending water everywhere and drenching her dress as well. She eyed the dog with large, violet eyes before scrambling to her feet and backing herself against the door.

"Are you alright?" Finni exclaimed "It's only Pluto."

Eloise felt trapped and when Finni stepped forward she bolted from the door. Silver glitter floated around the confused gardener and he looked around the garden to find that the Magician Girl had disappeared.

Finni sweat dropped when the door swung open and revealed Sebastian. He looked at all the water mess on the stairs and the fact there was no Eloise.

"I was going to introduce Pluto to Eloise" Finni started lamely "She took one look at him and then ran away."

Sebastian got a tick mark on his forehead and he put his fingers on the bridge of his nose "Eloise has been working with us in the Manor for two days Finnian. She is barely stable with where she is and what she is doing, then you go frighten her with that 'thing'?"

Sebastian glared at Pluto in disdain and Pluto let out a happy, booming bark and transformed back into his human form and in all his naked glory, jumped on Sebastian yapping happily.

Sebastian's face fell and he said to Finni dropping his hand and trying to push Pluto off him "You resume your duties Finni and I shall go and find Miss Eloise."

He got Pluto off and walked back inside having a fair idea where the ex Cirque member would have disappeared to.

* * *

><p>The room was silent and dark, eloise had been forbidden to go in here but it was the only place she could go and vent her feelings.<p>

She made her way to the bed and knelt down beside it, laying her head on the side of the mattress. "I don't care if I get into trouble but I had to see you" she murmured softly "You cant keep Cirques away from eachother hey?"

She looked up and Dagger's form was still.

She sighed and heaved herself back to her feet, setting her jaw stubbornly and walking across the room and pulling aside the heavy drapes and curtains.

The light flooded in and for the first time Eloise was able to see the state that Dagger was in.

He had been cleaned up but he was covered in bandages and bruises. He had one nasty black eye whilst the other side of his face was completely bandaged up.

"Oh Dagger" eloise breathed going over and dropping back down beside him "I'm so sorry."

She grasped his hand and found that it was still warm, indicating silent life. It was like he was only sleeping but he wouldn't wake up.

She lowered her head "I should have come sooner, I should have saved everyone from this mess. My nightmare was right, I failed."

Eloise could no longer cry, having cried out every tear she had until she only felt numbness.

She was already past the tears stage, only to have moved onto bonecrushing misery. After all; she was used to death, it was a part of life.

She found his pulse and listened to it, trying to assure herself that he was still alive. That he wouldn't leave her behind either. Eloise was forcing herself to stay and suffer the misery because of Dagger. He was her brother and she loved him more than her blood family.

After a moment of silence, eloise began to speak, just to feel better and that she liked to pretend that Dagger was listening to her rambles.

"Well I'm a Maid now" she started.

She looked to his battered face; "You remember Smile and Black? Well it was actually Ciel Phantomhive and his Butler Sebastian. They were investigating our dirty work that Father made us do. I _knew _he was up to no good, he threatened me and Joker, threatened to hurt us, so we had no choice."

She squeezed Dagger's still hand "Everyone else is dead, I still blame Peter. If they only listened! You had the right idea Dagger, we should have waited for Joker to lead us away. Peter was rash and looked what happened!"

Her chest constricted sadly "I have you Dagger, that's it. I don't know where Doll is or if Joker is alive. So _don't _you dare leave me."

She rubbed her thumb over his hand "Ciel hired me as a maid believe it or not. Maybe as a joke? Because my life is already ruined. But at least I got a roof over our heads. Said he wanted my abilities, good luck to that; I'm a hopeless murderer, I'm more of a protector and I still failed at that."

She let her head drop back onto the mattress and she stopped talking staring out into space until she heard a voice.

"You saved him from being incinerated."

Eloise jerked up and spun around to the door where she saw Sebastian.

"How long were you standing there for?" she seethed and Sebastian smirked at her "I heard everything."

She fixed up her tousled hair and said quite bluntly "Well that was kind of…private? Between me and Dagger you know?"

"Wouldn't you prefer to talk to somebody who would speak back?" the Butler asked walking into the room.

Eloise got to her feet and watched him wearily; "Well Dagger is family, more comforting to be around at this time?"

She didn't mean to sound rude or sarcastic but it was her way of verbally protecting herself also that Sebastian was as equally sarcastic and rude as well didn't make it any better.

"Very well" Sebastian complied, his eyes narrowing "I shall leave it at that. Now, you know you are not allowed in here."

Eloise instantly was on the defensive "Why not? Dagger is my responsibility, I didn't ask you or anybody else to take charge of him."

"Best to leave the difficult things to me Miss Eloise. If anything goes wrong-…"

"I am perfectly capable of dealing with it myself, I know what I am doing Sebastian, I don't need you telling me what to do when I already know" Eloise said heatedly. Sebastian looked at her irritably;

"We do not disobey the Young Master's orders Eloise. You are lucky that he allowed you to stay."

Eloise clamped her mouth shut and her violet eyes flashed in annoyance "You wont keep me away from him forever Sebastian. I am not one to follow orders very well!"

The Butler looked her up and down "I can see that, now, leave the room and go back to your chores-…"

"No!" Eloise blurted

Sebastian raised a delicate brow

"I mean- erm- I don't want to go back outside with that _beast _out there, I _hate _dogs!"

Eloise couldn't help but fidget at her statement; she truly did hate dogs and luckily for her, Sebastian seemed to understand.

"Alright" he sighed "I will put you in the kitchens to help with the dinner preparations… You- can stop explosions right?"

At this Eloise whipped her head around to blurt out in surprise "W-What!"

A brisk breeze swept around the room, the thick curtains came back together with a soft 'thump' plunging the room back into darkness and before she knew it, her and Sebastian were out in the hall and walking away.

"Showoff" she scoffed.

…

"Wha'? I dun' need no help!"

Bardroy folded his arms across his chest and looked away as if he was offended as Eloise peeked past Sebastian and into the kitchen. She sweatdropped when the Butler pinched the bridge of his nose and his voice sounded annoyed;

"Were you planning to use the _flamethrower_?"

"Well" Bard said, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back his head awkwardly "I thought if I done that, we could get stuff done quicker and …stuff."

He trailed of lamely and Eloise took one flat glance to the weapon on the table and announced in a blunt voice; "I don't want to die."

Bard held his arms to his side and gazed at Eloise fiercely, exclaiming angrily "Ey! My cooking aint that bad!"

Eloise snapped her gaze to the cook, her eyes blazing dangerously "Its not 'how' you cook it's the 'way' you persist in cooking!"

She didn't need to look at the flamethrower again and she pushed the door all the way open and saw a row of over-boiling pots on the stove.

"Even I can cook better than this" she announced standoffishly.

Bard snorted at her "Like to see you try Missy! You have been living here for how long? A week?" he unfolded his arms and Eloise sent a venously glare to him and he continued with a smirk on his face "You have been living in a Circus! You wouldn't know the basics!"

Eloise snapped back; "Hey! Living in the Circus was beneficial, I have learnt a lot of things that would get me through this life thankyou very much, I wouldn't have given that up for the whole world!"

Eloise noticed that Sebastian had left her and now she was stuck with some trigger-happy moron who was set on destroying everything. She shook her head and walked into the kitchen with Bard following on behind her.

She was still irked and she pointed to the flamethrower and said in a disgusted voice "First off, we wont be needing this! Now get rid of it before it blows anything up!"

Bard snorted "Yes your Highness, who died and made you God?"

Eloise sunk her teeth into her lower lip and refrained from saying something smart back to the cook. She knew she was being harsh and rude, but she was frustrated and upset. She took in a deep breath and exhaled counting to five before turning to the Cook;

"Look, Bard; I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm still- still getting used to the fact that I'm a servant. It's a bit hard to become adjusted to and with Dagger the way he is-…" she shrugged helplessly and turned to the stoves and turned them down.

She heard clunks behind her and Bard's voice came out; "Dun' be so hard on yerself, I know you aint God and the way you have bin' treated aint right. But keep that smart mouth to yerself hey?" Eloise nodded and stared at the pots blankly; she hadn't meant to be rude, everything was frustrating her. She felt confined and trapped, she knew she would be able to escape easily but she was stuck because of Dagger and he needed her.

She heard Bard put away his death weapon and she looked up to the overhanging rails over the sinks and her eyes widened when she saw a large, fluffy white scarf hanging there. It was charred but still deemed good and she instantly recognised it.

She yanked the wool down from the rail and gazed at it incredulously before more anger flared up inside her.

Through the black chars and the white wool, were spots of blood. Dark red splotched that decorated the whole length of the scarf.

"No" Eloise whispered, inspecting it before shifting her gaze to the cook "This belonged to my sister Beast! Why did you keep this! Is it because you wanted to tease and taunt me?"

"She wa' the sheila with the mane of black curls wa'nt it?" Bard said munching on the end of his cigarette and Eloise hand closed into a fist around the wool.

"Yeah it was hers, found it in the rubble when we were cleaning this place up when I blew it sky high. Kinda surprised that it survived, cause she sure didn't."

"I don't appreciate you talking about her death that way!" Eloise seethed "Say one more thing about her and I will pull your tongue right from your mouth and show it to you!"

It wasn't a threat but a promise and Bard instantly shut up and let the former Cirque brood over the scarf.

He shook his head; "Bloody women an' their mood swings."

He went to the cupboards and opened them up to pull down some more ingredients for the dinner and put them over the prep table laying them out in order.

Eloise's hands were trembling as she gripped the scarf with a death grip. This was all she had left of the Beast Tamer. She had nothing else, then she was struck with a thought.

She bunched the scarf up in her hands and looked up to Bard:

"Where will Sebastian be?"

The Cook stood straight and rubbed the back of his head "I dun' know, probably with the Young Master. Y'know if he catches you ditchin' another chore he will 'ave your head you know."

Eloise shrugged "I really don't care if you haven't noticed Bardroy, hang on; you might know. The bodies of the Cirques that infiltrated the Manor. Did you bury them?"

Her hopes were dashed when Bard dropped his hand and he sighed, taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

"No. Sebastian gathered the bodies and burned them. The Young Master didn't want them buried on his land y'know. Im sure Sebastian collected their ashes, fer your sake."

Eloise took a deep breath to calm her nerves and the urge to scream clogged her throat. She looked up, silvery tears rimming her eyes "Where can I find them?"

Bard shrugged helplessly seeing Eloise's tears "You will have to find Sebastian fer that. Sorry Eloise I didn't mean to make you cry."

Eloise fought the tears back and took another deep breath counting to three before putting the scarf on the back of a chair and looking at the ingredients on the table.

'Never mind Bard, I will find Sebastian later and ask then. Now-…"

She stepped back and flung her long hair from her shoulder and put her hands on her hips "What are we making?"

* * *

><p>Ciel looked at the food in front of him and then to an incredibly messy Bard and Eloise. The Ex Cirque blushed under the blanket of flour she was covered in. "Trust me" she said with a slight chuckle "The food is way better than what we are, trust me."<p>

Sebastian shook his head and Bard stepped back as Eloise watched Ciel take the first bite of food they had prepared and cooked.

Eloise wasn't a cook but she was ok at it, she had learnt some little tricks over the years and they had come handy especially at a time like this. She watched Ciel's face twist a little at the unusual taste but he took another bite and said in flat voice.

"Its good."

That was the best compliment they would ever get from the Earl and Eloise relaxed and smiled at Bard "See I told you that I had a few tricks up my sleeve, but no, you didn't believe me."

Bard smirked at her "Guess I was wrong about you missy, guess I found myself a new cooking partner."

Eloise looked back to Ciel and Sebastian, the Demon looked only a tiny bit surprised and he looked up, his crimson eyes locking with Eloise's violet. His irises flashed crimson and Eloise glared at him while Bard seemed to melt under the simple words the Master had said.

She stepped back and she averted her eyes and they happened to fall on the local newspaper that Ciel had received that day.

**CHILDREN GO MISSING**

Was the headline splashed over the top and Eloise's eyes widened and without any regard to how messy she was, she ran over the carpet towards Ciel and yanked up the paper. She read the story and her breath hitched when it explained that young girls had been going missing.

She looked up to Ciel who gave her blatant stare and said;

"Sebastian and I are going out tomorrow to an Ice Festival to investigate a murder before we investigate the case of the missing girls."

"Wow an Ice Festival?" an excited cry rung out through the hall and all heads turned to see Finni with his hands clapped together "Can we go Master? Please!"

Ciel shut his eyes and sighed "No you may not. I am on business and I cannot afford any fool hardiness."

All the servants faces dropped and Eloise said bluntly "You expect us to stay here while you go to a Festival? That's a little unfair." She pouted and Ciel put down his fork and looked directly at Eloise "No, you're coming."

Eloise's eyes widened:

"Beg your pardon?" she said quite stupidly

Ciel sighed and took a deep breath and repeated the sentence sounding a little irked "I said that you are coming with me Eloise. Do you still want to protest over this matter?"

Eloise shook her head and she could almost imagine the comical tears that the other three were crying and sulking. "I understand" was all she could come to say without sounding more of a complete fool.


	10. My Fair Ice Maiden

**Hehe this is Chapter 10, so people who have already read it, feel free to go onto the next chappie :)**

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><p>"CIIIIIIEEEEEEELLLLLL"<p>

Eloise cringed at the impossibly high octave and a shudder lanced up and down her spine. She stood at the top of the stairs with Ciel and Sebastian and they all looked towards the door where it flung open and a young girl with impossible golden curls come darting up the flight.

Eloise looked to Sebastian, "How does she get her voice that high" she whispered and Sebastian only raised a brow at her.

The brunette jumped back with wide violet eyes as the girl grabbed Ciel by the arms and swung him around with such force, Eloise swore that if she let go of the Earl, he'd literally hit the roof.

The girl dropped Ciel who went limp in her arms and Eloise looked down at him worriedly before looking back to Sebastian who only put his fingers on the bridge of his nose before putting his arms down and explaining to her.

"That is Miss Elizabeth, The Young Master's fiancée, as you can see, she's rather eccentric."

They both looked back to the frilly pink bonnet and the long golden curls underneath as she beamed and put a small ribboned box into Ciel's hand. "Here" she smiled "Open this."

Ciel looked mildly intrigued as he went to take it from Elizabeth and Eloise noticed the girls emerald green eyes widen when she saw Ciel's large sapphire ring. Then she snatched the box back as Ciel undid the ribbon.

"NO!" she cried, clutching the box to her breast and looking at the ring "Your ring?" she said with big pouty lips "I thought I broke that, it was chipped."

Ciel looked down to his thumb and he said "Sebastian fixed it for me."

"What Phantomhive Butler could not do that for his Master?" Sebastian said a hint of gloating in his voice and Eloise rolled her eyes "Think you're so high and mighty."

Elizabeth's eyes were glassy with tears when she looked up and noticed Eloise for the first time and she frowned slightly "Who are you?"

"Oh" Eloise said quietly "Well, I'm Trick-uh, I mean Eloise."

Elizabeth stared at her a little suspiciously and Sebastian cut in, "Miss Eloise had an accident a little while ago and the Young Master has given her and her injured friend a place to stay until he wakes up."

Then the girls frown softened and she looked back to Ciel "I'm sorry, I can't."

She turned back down the stairs and left the mansion followed by a brown haired maid who looked helplessly after her Mistress.

"Err was that me?" Eloise asked looking at the doors that closed behind the girls. Sebastian only looked to the door with a puzzled frown on his face "She is a little out there, but like all women I suppose, you are prone to mood swings."

"Hey" Eloise protested "We aren't all that bad, its dealing with morons like you that set most women off the edge."

"Oh really?" Sebastian asked and Eloise started to go pink in the cheeks and the diamantes in her cheeks glittered in the lights.

"Oh you two stop arguing" Ciel scolded "We have work to do. Let's hurry up and get to this festival."

Sebastian nodded and walked down the stairs and went to organise a carriage and Ciel turned to Eloise and eyed her ice blue dress that she was wearing to her knees and flat shoes. "You aren't going to wear that are you?" he said and Eloise looked at her attire.

"I thought it looked nice is there something wrong with it?"

Ciel looked at her like she had sprouted another head "We are going to an _Ice _Festival Eloise and you are going to wear a dress? It's going to be cold."

Eloise felt the blood pool in her cheeks and she whispered "Oh, that's why he sat the parka there." She looked up to Ciel with red cheeks "I'll go and get my other attire."

She ran up the side flight of stairs towards her bedroom and flung open the door and ran to her closet.

She opened the doors and saw the long dark blue parka with a furred hood and furry black boots with matching ice blue knee length socks. She swore she could almost hear Sebastian mocking her and she grumbled, "Such a cocky, uptight pain in the..."

She flicked off her shoes and fell back onto her bed and pulled up the socks and slid the boots on. "How stupid can you get?" she mumbled to herself "It's cold outside and you wear a dress with flat shoes. Looked like such a fool in front of Ciel, stupid Eloise, so stupid."

She grabbed her parka in a flurry of blue and dashed for the door and ran down the hall calling out to Dagger in his designated room "Don't go anywhere Dagger; I will be back for you."

She quickly made her way down the stairs and ran for the front doors and saw Ciel getting into the carriage.

"Let us hurry Eloise" Sebastian smirked "I put the clothes there for a reason, what were you thinking?"

"Oh be quiet" Eloise snapped "Stuck up pain in the neck."

She climbed into the carriage opposite Ciel who was reading another newspaper and Eloise cocked her head to the side as Sebastian started the horses and she read the paper sidewards.

"**Girls still go missing in London."**

"So what case are you going to be working on?" Eloise asked reading the article and Ciel flicked the paper and his blue eye matched Eloise's violet. "We are investigating a murder of a man by the river where the Festival is being held."

"So it's just a simple homicide?" Eloise asked and Ciel nodded before realising that she had read the first page of the newspaper "Looking for more action are we Eloise" showing the front page to her "This is your expertise isn't it?"

Eloise pursed her lips as Ciel said that. "Children go missing? Sounds like another case I worked on?"

"Then why don't you dress up like a clown and go join the next Circus that comes to London then" Eloise seethed and Ciel only smiled and put the paper down in his lap "Did I hit a sore spot Eloise? I'm not saying it for an attack against you."

Eloise jerked her head to the side and looked to the scenery outside refusing to speak to the antagonising Earl and after a little while she noticed a little white speck fall from the sky. She gasped;

"It's snowing!"

She flattened herself against the carriage window and looked up to the sky and saw more snow falling and she admitted "I've never seen falling snow."

She unhooked the clip to the window and put her hand out and from outside she heard Sebastian "Put your gloves on Eloise, in your parka."

Eloise pouted and put her hand back until she pulled on black gloves before shoving her hand back out the window.

"Everybody's seen snow" Ciel retorted staring at Eloise and the Ex Cirque shook her head. "Being in the Circus meant we travelled a lot, we usually missed the cold seasons in other places. So hitting London in at its most miserable was quite a shock for me."

"Have you seen snow?" Ciel asked and Eloise looked back at him with a sheepish smile "Only dirty snow. Not the pure white snow that everybody talks about."

She saw more flakes fall and she leant over and smiled at the top of Sebastian, "I bet you're enjoying that up there aren't you?"

"You can't get up there without stopping the carriage" Ciel said disapprovingly "And we aren't stopping."

"I can get up there" Eloise said looking back over her shoulder to Ciel "Do you doubt my abilities?" Ciel rolled his eye "I would like to see you climb out that window and up to where Sebastian is sitting without losing your balance and falling from the carriage."

Eloise stared at him "I was the Trickster of the Circus Ciel, more of a Magician. Look, now you see me-..."

Suddenly right in front of Ciel's eyes, Eloise vaporised into silver dust and disappeared and he heard Eloise's voice sing out "Now you don't."

"Well I can certainty hear you" Ciel said scooting over to the window and seeing Eloise up beside Sebastian "I'm closing this window, so don't expect to be let back in."

Then he slammed the window shut and clicked the lock back in.

"So grumpy." Eloise grouched folding her arms across her chest and slumping back on the carriage. "How did I end up in a household that's so sullen and serious?"

"You can hardly call the other four sullen and serious" Sebastian said referring to Finni, Bard, Mey-Rin and Tanaka. Eloise quirked her lip and nodded "True, But! Who am I stuck with most of the time?"

"The Young Master" Sebastian said and Eloise snarked "Meaning you! Sullen and serious and a bloody annoying tease. I came from a Circus that made everybody around them smile,"

"Besides the children you kidnapped" Sebastian interjected and Eloise's eyes became sharp and she smacked Sebastian on the shoulder "Don't you start!" she snapped "Or there would be hell to pay!"

"Hell? Could you really come up with that?" Sebastian chuckled and Eloise huffed "Well once I'll deal with you, you'll be begging to go back." She stared out at the road ahead of them before asking grumpily "How long till we get there?"

"Not long Eloise" Sebastian said directing the horses "Just lay back and close your eyes. The frost will come soon so pull your hood up and I will tell you when we are close."

"Man you can have your times when you want to be nice" Eloise said pulling her hood up and letting the dark navy fur tickle her nose and Sebastian turned to her "So can you. Now stop with the banter and enjoy the ride."

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><p>Eloise dozed off about halfway on the ride and soon enough Sebastian was shaking her awake "Miss Eloise we have arrived."<p>

The Brunette opened a bleary violet eye and saw the familiar murky buildings of London and for some reason, she felt dread rise up inside her.

Sebastian navigated through the streets, in and out of traffic before the buildings cleared out and a bridge appeared and Eloise's eyes instantly lit up at the stalls and the Festival before her.

"Alright I feel better now" she smiled and as Sebastian pulled the carriage up. Eloise was already scrambling down the small steps and down onto the street. She ran across the paver's and pushed her face against the glass of a small decoration shop.

"And she's off" Sebastian said watching after the girl as Ciel got out of the carriage. The Earl Phantomhive sighed and shook his head "Leave her be, I have business to attend to. She'll come back when she wants something."

"She won't come back asking for something though" Sebastian muttered shaking his head "and I'm pretty sure what she will do if she sees something that she _does_ want."

…

Eloise danced among the stalls admiring what the Merchants had to offer until she caught one that sold jewellery.

"Ooo" she said under breath looking at the stall-person who had his back turned. She admired the jewels eyeing off numerous headbands and necklaces. The man turned around and Eloise smiled at him and pointed to them "How much is it for these?"

When he told her, Eloise's face dropped and she knew she couldn't go back and ask Ciel for money. "Ok" she said "I'll come back."

She walked a little distance away and looked back over her shoulder and saw the merchant turn his back again.

That's when a trail of silver glitter lit up behind her and Eloise smirked and held up a jewelled necklace and let it dangle between her fingers. "Ha, never mess with a Cirque" she chuckled before putting the necklace in her parka pocket.

Eloise wasn't always a thief, but she was pretty good at it when she did. She began to wonder what Ciel would think when he found out but she simply shrugged it off. They were Market People and they wouldn't be there by the time Ciel found out.

She robbed several more stalls before she reached the bridge and saw a frozen lake with people skating on it. Her eyes widened and she leant over the snowy ledge and watched everybody. "I want to try that" she whispered before she realised that Ciel and Sebastian were down there watching everybody as well.

Eloise smiled and dashed from the bridge and down the ledge past people and to where the other two were. She popped up beside Sebastian and the Butler looked down at her beaming, pink face and sighed "Don't worry Eloise, I got you a pair of skates as well" he leant down to her ear "At least I didn't steal them"

"Hey I'm above money" Eloise snorted "They were overpriced anyway, serves them people a lesson" she took the skates off Sebastian and plonked back into the snow and pulled off her boots and wiggled her toes in her blue sock.

"You could have at least waited for a bench" Ciel said staring down at her and Eloise shrugged "By the time we can get one; I would already have these on."

She pulled the skates on and tied the laces up and Sebastian asked "Have you ever ice-skated before Miss Eloise?"

"Nope" Eloise popped the 'p' "I'll learn though" she got to her feet and Sebastian grabbed her boots and handed them to the skate stall to mind other people shoes. Eloise got up and balanced on the skates and saw Sebastian and Ciel walking to a free bench to put their own skates on.

"Heey!" Eloise called "Wait for me!"

Even with skates on, she ran after them and people watched her as she did and wondered how on earth she kept perfect balance.

She danced around the bench as Ciel sat down and Sebastian raised a brow "You're pretty good on your feet Eloise."

The Brunette smiled "I have never ice skated before, but I was from the Circus, you had to be good on your feet, no matter what you were wearing."

Sebastian tied up Ciel's skates and put on his own and Eloise smirked "Now let's see how we go skating huh?"

She dashed across the snow and slid across the ice and she knew the instant she hit it; that she was going to lose her balance. The skates slid and next minute, Eloise fell promptly onto her backside landing with a heavy 'thud' on the ice.

"_Don't say anything" _Eloise said to herself and she felt a presence near her. Sebastian helped her up and he mocked "I thought Cirques had to be good with their feet no matter what they were wearing?"

"I lost my balance" Eloise grumped "It was a silly mistake, I hit the ice wrong."

Sebastian let go of her hand and then she pushed herself away from the Butler and scooted across the ice regaining her balance and getting the hang of the skating.

Her parka flew out behind her and her hair came out from the confines of the hood and she done a neat twirl and skated back towards Sebastian and Ciel. "See! I do get better." Ciel watched her skate while he wobbled around on his own skates and Sebastian kept a steady hand on him.

"See it's not that hard Young Master, you just go with it."

Sebastian dragged Ciel out over the ice and poor Ciel was so disgruntled. He slipped all over the place and Sebastian kept on having to pull him and steady him before Ciel slipped again.

Eloise skated around the whole lake weaving in and out of the beginner skaters like Ciel, the ones that were better and the ones that could skate and doing tricks in the middle of the lake.

Eloise saw a particular woman lift her leg and glide across the ice on one leg before leaping up and twirling around in a circle and sliding away again. Then she gathered up speed and skated right through the crowds before coming back backwards.

She was showing off and Eloise frowned "What's so special about that? I would be able to do that." She stopped still before pushing herself to the middle of the lake where the pro skaters were and decided to see what she could do.

She didn't dare want to get the wobbles in the middle of the lake. It would be hard to get up without support and you _were _more prone to falling over because there was nothing to grab onto to steady yourself.

She pushed of the ice and let herself glide across the ice and she imagined herself doing a practise with Doll on the tightrope. You had to be so careful not to fall from the wire, she had to concentrate and put one foot in front of the other.

She started to speed up and she found herself dashing across the ice on par with the show-off pro. She done a neat arc and then leapt up and fell back to the ice holding out her arms to keep her balance and weaved her feet in and out watching the lines wave in between each other on the ice.

"Being in the circus has its quirks" she laughed to herself.

"Very impressive Miss Eloise" a smooth voice broke out from behind her.

"Wahh" Eloise cried out in shock before losing her balance and falling over backwards. She was caught by two lean arms and she looked up and flushed when she saw Sebastian. "I was doing well until you came" she pouted.

Sebastian helped her up and she looked around the lake and didn't see any sign of Ciel. "Where is he?" she asked and Sebastian looked towards the benches "The Young Master isn't very happy that he can't skate as well as the others, he's rather disgruntled."

Eloise saw Ciel then and he was untying his skates and putting back on his shoes before shoving his hat back on head and storming off back towards the stall. Eloise giggled "Aw poor Ciel, we should leave the ice anyway."

Sebastian nodded and they both skated back to the edge of the lake and instead of going to a bench, Eloise fell back into the snow and took the skates off and pulled her boots back on when Sebastian came back with them.

"I suggest you stop stealing things as well Eloise" Sebastian reprimanded "A lady like you shouldn't degrade yourself to such lowly acts."

Eloise shrugged "I've been one; sometimes its habit and I don't have money anyway. It works either way, I end up with what I want and you keep your money at the end of the day."

Sebastian sighed and they stepped through the snow and to the street where Ciel was standing on the bridge. As Eloise was walking she stopped dead when she heard a jingling sounding on the breeze.

It sounded a lot like 'London Bridge' and Eloise spun around to the crowds on the streets and didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

She heard it jingle again and then, through the crowd she saw a large red top hat through people's heads.

She looked back to Sebastian and Ciel and called out "I'm going back out to the markets, I'll be back."

Then she ran across the cobblestone and back into the crowds where she heard the jingle get louder and louder.

_London Bridge is falling down, falling down _she recited in her head in tune to the song _London Bridge is falling down, My Fair Lady_

Then, through a break in the crowd Eloise caught sight of peculiar dressed man in blue, and a wild tuft of red hair poking through the bottom of his hat. He looked...familiar.

Eloise's heart leapt into her throat and she couldn't believe her eyes that hair could only belong to one person.

The spikes, the peculiar shade and the clothes! Those clothes could definitely come from the Circus.

Eloise pushed herself farther, pushing through crowds trying to catch up to this man and as she got closer, the louder the tune became. She reached the back of the man and then she couldn't help herself.

It had to be!

"Joker! I knew you would come back!"

Eloise flung her arms around the man and clung to him tightly. He stopped and Eloise felt tears pricking her eyes "I knew you couldn't have died in the fire, Sebastian is a liar! I knew he lied, where's Doll? I have Dagger back at the Manor. Oh I can't explain how much I missed you."

When she got no response, Eloise's thumping heart died and she unwrapped her arms and the man still stood there stock still.

Then:

_His head turned all the way around on his shoulders!_

'That's not Joker' Eloise thought in horror, then she tried to scream as the shadow enveloped her and the tune of London Bridge buzzed in her mind.

_My Fair Lady..._


	11. Build It Up With

**Alright, now that we are back on track :)**

**Readers who see this, I had made a mistake and accidentally uploaded Chapter 10 thinking it was 9.**

**I have since now fixed it up so make sure you didnt miss anything.**

**Alright, this is Chapter 11 and everything is swell... :) As people could think now, Yes 'Tricky' is now on Anime base, but I will let everybody know if we ever go back onto Manga verse.**

**As always, leave feedback and reviews ^.^ and I shall keep on writing **

**ENJOY**

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><p>"Where is she?"<p>

Sebastian scanned the crowds and Ciel said impatiently "Didn't she say she was going back to the markets?"

Sebastian couldn't see Eloise's long brown hair with the glittering silver headband anywhere among the stalls or people and he didn't know whether or not to be concerned.

She was not the kind of person to play vicious pranks like this.

"We will have to go look for her" Sebastian said down to his Master and Ciel looked up, "You don't suppose anything has gone wrong? She did seem like she was in a hurry."

"I will scour the Markets and see if I can find her, it isn't that busy so if she is there I would be able to find her."

Ciel rolled his eye and he began to walk towards the Markets and Sebastian kept a keen ruby eye out for the troublesome Ex-Cirque. If something had gone wrong, he would know of it.

They walked up and down the stalls and Sebastian asked the Merchants whether or not they had seen Eloise. They were hit time and time again by people who _had _seen her but didn't know where she went until they found a helpful old lady near the end of the stalls.

"She was running through the crowd after a peculiar young man a uniform. He had the most interesting shade of red hair I had ever seen. She had run up and hugged him , then they disappeared behind the crowd. After that I saw him leading her down that alley. I haven't seen them since."

Ciel looked up at Sebastian and the Earl said "How old would Eloise be? The kidnapper is only targeting young girls."

"Eloise would have to be at least twenty or twenty one" Sebastian guessed "She is by standards a young woman. At least we have a description of what her kidnapper looked like."

They walked back down the cobblestone street and Ciel asked "You don't think it was Joker? The one she has been pining about?"

Sebastian shook his head "He didn't emerge from the mansion as I left, even if he did survive , it would have taken him a long while to come back to London and find Eloise out of all the millions of people that live here."

"I think we have our kidnapper then" Ciel said "We should start the investigation into the kidnappings, this Ice Festival Homicide was nothing. Young girls have gone missing and we have to find out why."

Ciel looked down the dark alley where Eloise had allegedly been taken away was dark and empty. They didn't have a lead if they disappeared down that alley that was a dead end.

They walked back down the Markets until they heard a familiar, but panicked cry down the line of shops, "Lady Elizabeth! Where are you?"

In a break in the crowd, Ciel saw Elizabeth's Maid Paula.

When the fair haired Brunette saw Ciel, her eyes widened with worry and she ran over to them. "Oh Master Ciel, You haven't seen Elizabeth anywhere have you? We were stuck in traffic because of the Festival and I looked out the window and she..."

"She what?" Ciel demanded, his large sapphire eye widening and Paula said tearfully "She got out of the carriage and I couldn't find her anywhere and nobody had seen her!"

Ciel looked back up to Sebastian "You don't think Lizzie has been taken too?" the concern was now evident on the Earls face and Paula sniffled "Is this to do with the kidnappings around London?" Ciel nodded "My other companion you met this morning Eloise, she has been taken as well. Led away by a man with red hair and wearing a blue suit."

Sebastian looked back out to the Stalls "He must be drawing them in somehow. Do you think he takes the appearance of somebody that lures his victims in? Like Eloise with Joker? He is the only other man I have seen with red hair?"

"Possibly" Ciel said "Sebastian we need to get back to the carriage and start the investigation. We cannot let anybody be kidnapped or harmed. If anything happened to Lizzie, I would never forgive myself."

"Do not worry Young Master" Sebastian assured him "Eloise is tougher than you think, she will protect Lady Elizabeth when danger arises."

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><p><em>London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down, London Bridge is falling down- My Fair Lady<em>

"Enough with the stupid music already!" Eloise shouted from the room she was locked in.

She was tied to a chair and ever since she was led away by the man with red hair, she had been tied up and listening to the cursed song!

Her legs had not stopped trembling ever since she had arrived in this mysterious place, The kidnapper had a remarkable similarity to Joker it was uncanny. Eloise didn't believe in re-incarnation but if it was possible, this would be it.

She rocked in the chair again before she felt a small breeze tickle her hair. She turned her head and spied an open window and she withheld a small gasp. 'Of course' she whispered to herself 'I was so caught up in worrying.'

She looked back to the closed door where the music still chimed and closed her eyes. She felt herself shrinking and the ropes binding her falling onto the chair. Her clothes fell about her and she made a note that she had to move them.

Being a cat made it difficult, but she managed to drag her dress, her parka, her underclothes, socks and boots to a corner and jumped up on a chest of drawers and knocked down a dusty blanket down on top of them.

She couldn't risk this kidnapper to take her clothes and her to transform back to a human butt-naked. It was cruel prank that Dagger used to play on her when she first joined the Circus.

Then, like a shadow in the night, she leapt out the window and had a good look around her surroundings. She was high up; in a tower of a mansion. There was a line of shops and down in the distance, she was able to see streetlights and the road. If she could escape it would be swell, the problem was, she didn't know where she was and it was better off being here where somebody could find her, or going out and being completely lost.

She crept along the sill and onto the planks around the tower and darted around to the next window and looked in.

The room was lit up by candles and she saw the music box the man had been holding still chiming and the man was sitting there motionless. Eloise drew back quickly, afraid that he could have seen her.

But when she peeked back around, she saw that he hadn't moved. He was sitting still, not moving. He was like a motionless puppet.

Eloise started to get the spooks, so she darted across the window pane and made sure he wasn't moving. She waited for a few minutes before she jumped into the room and out the open door and down the stairs.

She reached the room she was in and found there was a lock on the outside that she was able to open herself. She transformed and quickly ran into the room to get back into her clothes.

When she was changed, she crept out of her room and down another flight of stairs.

There were a lot of room in this tower and this made Eloise nervous. How many girls had he planned on kidnapping; and what was he doing to them?

All the rooms were silent until there was a closed one at the end and Eloise heard sobbing coming from it. She got to the door and put her ear against it and she heard more crying.

She unlocked it and opened the door and in the dark she instantly recognised Elizabeth bound and tied to a chair.

"Lady Elizabeth?" she breathed and Elizabeth looked up and her puffy red eyes widened with recognition "You're Eloise? W-What are you doing here?"

"I got taken by the man at the Ice Festival while I was shopping" Eloise said grimly, darting behind Elizabeth and untying the knots.

"How did he get you?"

"I was in the carriage with Paula" Elizabeth sniffled "I heard a tune to 'London Bridge ' and then...I don't know what happened, my mind was blank. Then when I came to, I was tied up here in the dark."

"Its what happened to me, 'cept mine was a foolish mistake. I thought he was somebody I knew." Elizabeth sniffed again "You're from the Noah's Ark Circus aren't you?"

"H-How did you know?" Eloise gasped; letting her hands fall from the ropes and Elizabeth took a deep breath and said "I recognised you, you were the Trickster. I went and saw your very first show. You thought the bad man was the ringleader of your circus didn't you?"

Eloise sighed and undid the ropes freeing Elizabeth, "Well I wasn't trying to keep it a secret but I didn't expect anybody to recognise who I was out of costume."

She helped Elizabeth up from the chair and looked around the dark room "We're in a tower, would you know what tower this would be in London?"

"I wouldn't know, there are many towers around London, especially on the outskirts."

Eloise bit her lip "Well I'm certain this is the man that has been kidnapping the girls. Ciel and Sebastian would be investigating this case now, especially if they found out you were taken."

"What about you?" Elizabeth asked and Eloise shook her head "I can look after myself, besides I don't want to be rescued, especially by Sebastian. My pride would be hurt too much otherwise."

"Oh-so you don't want-to be rescued?" a smooth but sort of mechanic voice came out and Eloise felt the hairs at the back of her neck prickle. Elizabeth gasped and clung to Eloise's parka and Eloise spun around to see the man standing there looking at them blankly.

"What you are doing is wrong!" Eloise said firmly, gripping Elizabeth "The police will be here soon and you will be thrown in jail!"

"What am I doing that's wrong?" the man said and Eloise frowned "Are you stupid? Kidnapping young girls. You will be in heaps of trouble."

"I'm not-stupid" the man said before cocking his head "W-What is your name?"

Eloise frowned "I'm Trickster and that's all you will know. Who are you that I'm so _gracious _to be in your presence?"

The man was oblivious to her sarcasm, he fell into a bow "Drocell Keinz"

"Drocell" Eloise said "Well I would have to curse and spit at you for kidnapping me. But then I look at you and all I see is a pathetic man who doesn't know what he's doing with himself." She stepped in front of Elizabeth "And whatever you plan to do with Elizabeth, you would have to go through me."

Eloise heard the jingle coming back and she hissed "Oh no you don't."

She grabbed Elizabeth "Hold on Lizzie."

The blonde clung to her and Eloise sprung up with natural ease and landed behind Drocell. His head turned around on his shoulders again and Eloise guarded the girl before rushing out of the room and down the stairs.

"Stay with me Lizzie" Eloise breathed "Don't worry I'll stay here with you and I wont let him touch you."

They ran down the stairs and Eloise heard the jingle coming back into her head. It made her fake leg wobble precariously and she hissed. "

what the hell is he doing?"

"He's making dolls" Elizabeth said running beside him, "I was in his shop talking to him about the gift I got Ciel, I-I was so upset that I couldn't make Ciel happy and he said he was going to give me to him."

"Ciel would be happy with anything Lizzie" Eloise said jumping from the stairs and leading Elizabeth down a dark room "As long its from you, it would be the best thing in the whole world to him."

The Ex-Cirque looked to the Lady, "I would give anything to have the man I loved back, you are so lucky to have Ciel and he's lucky to have you. So you don't have to worry about giving him gifts to keep him happy."

Suddenly, in the darkness, a blue glow erupted from Lizzie's hand and Eloise gazed down and saw a blue diamond ring.

"W-Where did you get that? Eloise asked and Lizzie looked down on it. "I-I was going to give Ciel this ring when I broke his other one, but when I realised that Sebastian had fixed the one I broke, I saw no point in giving it to him."

"I think that's what's luring the girls in" Eloise said looking around the room "Drocell has used the ring to bring girls here and experiment on them."

_Build it up with iron and steel, iron and steel,iron and steel. Build it up with iron and steel, my fair lady._

Elizabeth gasped and Eloise eyes narrowed when she saw girls come out. They stared listlessly ahead and they walked forward with cold, mechanical steps.

Eloise saw all her exits blocked and the girls got closer. Then with practised ease, Eloise lifted her leg and kicked a girl fair in the chest. Her boot hit solidly and a dull metal 'clunk' came out. Pain reverberated up her leg and Eloise said limping back "They're made of metal."

"_The lyrics!"_

Elizabeth screamed and Eloise spun around only to have her arms and hands pinned behind her with iron grip. She strained against it and knew she couldn't bend iron and she shouted "Lizzie No!" she saw the girl get grabbed and pulled away and Eloise saw Drocell standing on a balcony, staring down at them.

"Leave her alone!" Eloise shouted at him, "You don't need her! Why don't you come down here and fight me yourself?"

Drocell smirked, his purple eyes gleaming and locking onto Eloise's violet eyes "You wont do well as a doll my sweet, You would be perfect as a puppet."

* * *

><p>"I wonder if they are having fun at the Ice Festival?"<p>

Finni lifted is hat off his head and let it drop back as he walked back into the Manor.

Mey-Rin had a bucket of water and was cleaning the rails.

"Oh I hope they did" she said with a smile "Miss Eloise would have liked it."

"You know Sebastian would get cranky if he comes home and sees nothing dun ya know!" Bard walked into the hall holding an empty pot and Finni said "Oh we're allowed to have a break!"

The young man ruffled his hair and began to walk up the stairs before he paused and looked to Mey-Rin: "Did you hear that?"

Mey-Rin stopped and cocked her head "No I didn't."

"It was a bang" Finni said "From the bedrooms."

All three of the servants looked to each other before they all ran towards the hall of bedrooms.

As they reached the room where Finni heard the bang, Mey-Rin lifted her glasses and her sharp red eyes looked at the door.

"What do you think happened?"

"This is the room where Eloise's friend is" Bard said softly "You dun think he's-...?"

Finni nodded and opened the door and they all looked into the bedroom to see movement around in the darkness.

"You in there" Finni said, his voice cracking a little bit in fear and Mey-Rin brandished a gun from inside her pockets.

"Try and do anything and we will shoot you."

They opened the door the rest of the way and the light from the hall window flooded in and Mey-Rin saw the bed empty.

"He's not in the bed" she said to Bard "He's woken up."

The three walked into the bedroom and Finni went to the window and opened the blinds where they saw a figure sitting against the bed.

Eloise's companion Dagger had woken up.

His wild caramel hair was fluffed up and his face was pale and sickly. His hands were trembling slightly and when his green eyes landed on the three servants he said in a weary voice "Where am I and who are you?"

Finni went over and knelt down in front of the young man and he said in his best, friendliest voice "I'm Finni and these are my friend Bard and Mey-Rin."

Dagger looked up and when he caught sight of Bard, his eyes widened and he struggled to get up shouting "You! You attacked me and my sister! What did you do?"

Bard was solemn "You have bin' in a coma for over a week. If ya haven't already noticed, yer all alone here. The rest of yer family was killed."

Dagger face crumpled and Finni turned around "You didn't have to be so blunt about it."

The Gardener turned back to Dagger, who face went an even whiter shade "Mistress Eloise was quite adamant to protect you, you know" he smiled and Dagger's dull eyes looked into Finni's azure. "Trickster? S-She's alive?"

Bard nodded "We found you unconscious in the forest, somebody had saved you from the explosion. We used you as a decoy to flush her out, lucky that the Young Master took pity on her and you. He's making Eloise do chores like a maid so you could stay here."

"Oh Trickster" Dagger sighed running a tired hand through his mop of hair "Where is she?"

Finni smiled "She went to an Ice Festival with Sebastian and the Young Master , they should be back later this afternoon."

Dagger looked at Finni and the others with distrustful eyes "I-I wont believe you until I see Trickster with my own eyes. Other-wise I will kill you all for killing my family." His white face went angry then, he struggled to stand up and when he eventually did his eyes rolled and he collapsed back on the floor.

Finni picked him back up and put him back on the bed and Bard said "He would only be sleepin' now. Now that he's out 'of the coma, all we can do is wai' for the Master and the others t'get home." Mey-Rin nodded "I guess we're lucky that we 'ave Miss Eloise we are, she would be the only one to calm him down."

She lowered her glasses and put away her small gun, "Lets get back to work and wait. Then we can tell the Master that Dagger has woken up we can."

The servants left the room and Bard locked the door behind them, so the other Ex-Cirque wouldn't get into any trouble.

* * *

><p>Ciel and Sebastian were in the carriage riding along the road, Ciel was staring out of the window and Sebastian gazed over to his Master and asked "What is it?"<p>

Ciel closed his eye and he said smoothly "Are you prepared? I have an order to give you."

Sebastian's eyes widened ever so slightly and he inclined his head the smallest bit towards his Master "I want you to interview everybody who knew the victims and search the crime scenes am I understood?"

"Perfectly"

* * *

><p>Ciel walked down the dark silent street and looked around, "Paula said she lost Lizzy somewhere around here."<p>

He heard a panting in response and a large tick mark appeared on his forehead

"_Why did I have to bring him with me?"_

From beside him, Pluto woofed.

Then the stupid flashback came back and replayed in Ciel's mind:

"_Take this with you Young Master. I think you might find it useful?"_

"_Useful? How so?"_

"_Well Sir, if necessary, you can throw it at an attacker and run."_

Ciel's tick mark worsened "Well" he breathed "Anyway, your a dog which means you can track scents cant you?"

The Young Earl swept aside his long black cloak and brandished the ribbon off the box that Elizabeth had given him, he held it in front of Pluto who sniffed it then sneezed then he proceeded to scratch at his mane of silver hair .

Ciel frowned "You stupid little mongrel! Is Sebastian the only one you'll listen to?"

As he said that, Pluto lifted his nose and sniffed the air. His tongue lolled out and then he jerked Ciel across the street and into the alley.

Ciel was none to pleased when he saw Pluto's target. He began to pull back on the leash as Pluto tried to run forward.

"Why do you have to start looking for a mate now?" Ciel exclaimed before he heard a distinctive voice he didn't want to hear.

"Ohh a man looking for a mate? Perhaps I can help."

"_Oh great" _Ciel thought grimly _"The last thing I need."_

He looked up and saw the bright, red clad figure of Grell Sutcliffe and the Shinigami spun around "I am a hunter of love and at last, my prey is before me. _Red _is the colour of fiery passion and I am _flaming_!"

Ciel rolled his eye, a bad habit he had picked up from Eloise "You again!"

"_A deadly efficient Butler" _Grell said _"That's me!"_

He done a perverted tongue thing with a hand signal and Ciel got a shudder up and down his spine. "Do _not _ever do that again" he demanded.

"Oh" Grell said "I do find myself Master-less at the moment, after Madame Red, I was temporarily demoted and now I get only the lowliest of jobs. That brute Will said I couldn't get my old post back until I collect the lowliest of souls, rotten sadist. Although I must confess, I like rotten fruit now and then and those cold brooding eyes can make me warm enough on a freezing night?"

Ciel scoffed and looked away and Grell sniffed at him until his gaze fell on Pluto squatting beside Ciel. "And who is this wild one?" Grell asked "He's a cutie."

The Earl frowned and Grell sighed "Now, now you aren't here to avenge your Aunt are you?"

"Shut up" Ciel shouted and Grell taunted "You cant do much without your beloved Bassy here can you."

Sensing his Masters anger, Pluto growled and Grell's green eyes landed on him "Oh he's you little protector for the night is he?" he turned his head "Why does this little kid get all the good looking men?" he grumbled to himself.

Pluto lunged and he began to run and Grell thought he was running to him. He held out his arms but Pluto ran right by him and Ciel followed.

The Earl followed Pluto down the alleys and streets until Pluto raced around the corner and he caught sight of a small shop.

There in the shop window, was a familiar looking doll.

Too familiar

"Lizzie?" Ciel breathed he spun around when Grell opened a book and he scanned the page "Well, well look what we have here. Number 493 on the To-Die list, Butler and Puppeteer to the house of Mandalay... A Mister, Drocell Keinz."

There was a smashing noise and Pluto's angry bark and Ciel turned around and raced to the small shop as Grell snapped his book shut and followed after the Earl.

Ciel looked at the smashed window and ran to the door, forcing it open and making his way inside, he saw Pluto sitting on the floor chewing on the doll and Ciel bent down and Pluto bounded over and dropped the doll in his hands.

Ciel looked at it before he realised that there was a peach coloured ribbon tied around the dolls waist and he recognised it as the ribbon Elizabeth had tied in her hair previous that day, Ciel began to tremble "Lizzie!"

He looked up to see a door open in the corner of the room and he put the doll down and got to his feet as Pluto and Grell looked towards the door as well. Ciel went towards out and back out into the darkness to see a large Gothic mansion.

"_Eloise and Lizzie have to be in that mansion" _Ciel thought _"That Drocell lured them here and turned Lizzie into a Doll!"_

… _..._

"_Build it up with wax and stone, wax and stone, build it up with wax and stone, my fair lady."_

… …_._

Grell opened the door to the mansion and the three were greeted by a young girl standing on a podium. She looked blankly ahead and Ciel's mind raced as he remembered a picture of the same girl that had gone missing.

"Impossible"

He stepped back when the girls eyes turned down on them and he her arm shot out and grabbed Ciel around the throat. Her grasp tightened and Ciel tried to pull them down with his own hand but to no avail.

Ciel looked to Pluto and with a choked breath he called "Help me Pluto."

His hopes dashed when he saw Pluto sitting in the corner of the room chewing on a doll and Ciel grumbled "You stupid, useless Mongrel."

The girl didn't let go until Ciel noticed a crystal from the chandelier drop on her head "You should be calling on me" Grell said "As a Reaper I have all the tools for harvesting Souls."

He brandished...scissors and Ciel asked feeling a little muddled "Aren't those just scissors?"

"Will took my custom made Scythe away from me!" Grell exclaimed "Oh well."

He leapt from the chandelier and Ciel called out "No! Hold on, don't hurt her, she isn't actually a doll!"

He watched with horror as Grell sliced the girls throat and she fell with a motionless thud. Ciel ran over and from the gash in her throat he saw sand spewing out onto the floor. "Maybe she was a doll after all" he said with wide eyes.

"_Wood and clay will wash away, wash away, wash away"_

Grell and Ciel both gasped as the door opened and from the darkness, a man wearing a blue suit with peculiar red hair appeared holding a candelabra, his cold purple eyes landed on the doll and he said "What a useless doll she was an utter failure."

He walked out into the light where Ciel saw him and Drocell said "So then I thought to myself: In order to succeed, I must make them considerably stronger than this."

Drocell raised his hand and Ciel stepped back watching him wearily, he had to find Lizzy and Eloise. They could be in so much danger, they could have turned into dolls.

"_Build it up with iron and steel, iron and steel, iron and steel. Build it up with iron and steel, my fair lady."_

From the darkness, more girls appeared, all lifeless, eyes staring blankly ahead and Ciel's voice said frantically in his head, "I have seen this girls before."

"Im not going to let anyone take my day with dear, sweet Bassy!" Grell exclaimed before dashing forward.

"Hold on Grell- WAIT!" Ciel yelled but he was ignored and Grell jumped forward "Take this dolls!"

There was a metallic clang as the front girl crossed her arms and as Grell went to slice her. Grell was knocked back; "I couldn't cut them?"

Ciel looked to the Shinigami then to Pluto sitting in the corner, "Grell, This is an order! You and Pluto stay here and keep the dolls occupied, play with them for as long as it takes."

Grell cringed and sighed and he jumped back as a doll went to go hit him, Ciel ran past him and Grell called out after the Earl "Wait you're not going to leave me here are you? Very inhuman of you?"

Ciel ran down the hall and he said into the darkness

"I'm the _inhuman _one?"

* * *

><p>Eloise jumped from the stairs and began to run. The hallway seemed to stretch out in front of her and she thought frantically: <em>"I have to find Elizabeth. I have to save her."<em>

She put extra speed into her step and her long brow hair swept out behind her like a long veil.

She reached a cavernous room and on the opposite end of the room she saw Ciel appear from the bottom flight of stairs.

"Eloise!" he shouted and Eloise cried out in relief "Ciel! I'm so happy to see you, you have to be careful of-..."

"Ciel Phantomhive, you are indeed a beautiful specimen. I'll have to make you into a doll worthy of exquisite beauty."

"What have you done with Elizabeth?" Ciel demanded

"Now what materials shall I use for you?" Drocell asked himself cocking his head to the side "Clay will wash away too easily, but iron is far too crude for you, so then, I thought to myself…"

Eloise heard his voice and a voice in her head said viciously _"There is no way I'm letting him get Ciel either. I __**will **__protect him."_

Eloise dashed across the room and towards Ciel and Drocell clicked his head to the side "Are you going to hinder me again Trickster? I already couldn't finish my last doll because of you, I will have to turn you into one as well."

"I'm not letting you touch him Drocell!" Eloise said, pushing Ciel behind her.

Drocell's purple eyes looked sharply at her and then he raised his hand:

"_Build it up with silver and gold, silver and gold, silver and gold, build it up with silver and gold My Fair Lady."_

Eloise spun around"Ciel, cover your ears and run! We have to run up those stairs and get away from him, its how he makes his dolls and controls them."

As told, Ciel clapped his hands over his ears and Eloise ushered him to the doors.

She slammed them open and with a gasp she saw the black wall decorated with masks which were all singing the same words:

"**Build it up with silver and gold, silver and gold, silver and gold, build it up with silver and gold My Fair Lady."**

Eloise kept pushing the Earls back up the hall of singing masks trying to drown it out herself. Silver dust fell about her to try and protect her and Ciel from the darkness descending upon them and she reached over Ciel and pushed open the door.

She got Ciel in and slammed the door shut, Ciel uncovered his ears and Eloise let a deep shuddering breath escape her and she fell back against the door and slid down it. Trying to get the words out of her head.

"_I cant let him win against me" _

She lifted her right hand and looked at the fake half of it, the carbon porcelain it claimed to be was turning a shimmering shade of silver and gold and she muttered "I cant be around his singing for much longer" she sighed.

She heard Ciel gasp and she looked up and saw the Earl's eyes fixed on a symbol decorated on the floor and the intense horror she saw in Ciel's eyes made fright build up in her own chest. "Ciel?" she asked timidly, but she got no answer.

She felt a familiar presence enter the room and a smooth voice echoed out "Truly Master, nothing good ever happens on your birthday does it?"

Both Ciel and Eloise looked up at the voice and the curtains swung in the gentle breeze. They saw a silhouette framed in the moonlight and the voice continued:

"You lost your parents, your home and this time; you stand to lose Lady Elizabeth."

Eloise saw Sebastian sitting on the sill and the flutter or mixed emotions flooded her. She didn't know whether or not to feel relieved at seeing the demon or dread, at the fact that he was most possibly there to save everyone, including her.

"Sebastian!"


	12. Strings

"Take that back right now!" Ciel seethed.

Sebastian turned his head with the ghost of his smirk on his face, "What do you mean?"

"I don't like you TAUNTING me!" Ciel snapped and Sebastian smiled "Master, Earlier you informed me of some business to take care of, this business of yours, did it include endangering yourself?"

Ciel frowned and Sebastian looked up and his gaze did not fail to fall upon Eloise and the Ex-Cirque frowned as well, "I tried Sebastian, I really did. I saved Ciel and somewhat... myself." She lowered her gaze and she thought to herself sadly, _"I couldn't save Lizzie though."_

"Do you remember what you said at the Frost Fair, that your body, about your ring. What you had said that they had been shattered and reborn and you no longer had any fear of being broken yourself."

"I remember," Ciel, said grimly "You don't have to remind me."

'_Broken' _

The word reverberated through Eloise's head and she looked back up to Sebastian who had that ever present smirk on his face before her hand wandered to the seam of her dress and felt the cold porcelain of her leg.

She grit her teeth together and leant forward, just as the music began.

"_Build it up with iron and steel, iron and steel, iron and steel; build it up with iron and steel, my Fair Lady."_

Eloise's large violet eyes widened and with the old fright being burned again, it surged through her body. She pushed off the door and hauled herself to unsteady legs as Ciel ran to the centre of the room and spun around to face the door.

Eloise shook her head biting down the weariness that beat at her and stood by Ciel's side. Trying not to show the trembles that ran up and down her body. She couldn't allow Sebastian to see a weakness; he would never let her live it down otherwise.

Though she was expecting it, Eloise still jumped when the large doors burst open and numerous girls with a dead look in their eyes strode in.

Ciel stepped back, his large eye wide; "Those things defeated Grell," he said more so to himself.

Eloise looked to the left of Ciel and saw Sebastian walking towards them in his usual confident swagger.

"Interesting" he said as he came to stand beside Ciel "They seem to be controlled to the singing of that song."

"Such a genius" Eloise snorted "I think we could have fathomed that ourselves without your input Sebastian. I'm the one that seems to be suffering by it though." She held up her glistening hand and Ciel said disapprovingly "Why didn't you inform me that you were suffering because of it?"

"I had to save you" Eloise insisted, "I'm no more than a lowly Ex-Cirque with nothing to go home to and don't you dare say anything against that. The Manor is not my home, because I refuse to live with _him_." Her eyes scrutinised Sebastian who only smirked as the girls came closer.

"Whatever you say Miss Eloise" he smirked.

Then, much to Eloise's surprise, Sebastian raised his hand and in his deep voice, he began to sing as well.

"_Iron and steel will bend and bow, bend and bow…"_

Eloise looked back to the girls who began to freeze in their movements as Sebastian continued to sing.

"_Iron and steel will bend and bow, bend and bow, bend and bow, Iron and steel will bend and bow, my Fair Lady."_

"I see what he's doing," she whispered.

Sebastian launched himself into the middle of the group of girls who had completely stopped at his singing. His hands reached around the neck of a girl and almost easily broke her neck. She was made completely out of steel.

The rest of the girls began to sway to the music and Sebastian walked along the line and continued to break their necks, as they were merely twigs.

"_There's too many for him to break" _Eloise said before she clamped her hands together and added her own harmony to Sebastian's singing.

"_Iron and Steel will bend and bow… My Fair Lady…"_

Eloise stepped forward into the fray of the swaying girls and put her strength behind her to help break the necks while keeping in tune with Sebastian in their chorus and harmonies.

As the last girls, necks were broken, Sebastian held out his hands before sweeping them to his chest and kneeling down in front of Ciel who looked at him with his livid blue eye as the last words were sung.

"_My Fair Lady…"_

"Who are you calling a lady?" Ciel said coldly and Sebastian only smirked "Well I can't be singing to you then Young Master, the only other was here is Miss Eloise."

"Shut it" Eloise said coldly from behind them, "You're just antagonising Ciel, I can see it."

Sebastian stood up "Now Young Master" he said smoothly "Let us go?"

He went to go stride beside Ciel before there was a loud gasp from Eloise as a familiar, disjointed voice came from the darkness.

In the doorway stood Drocell. His hands were on a large wind up music box, strapped around his neck and he almost seemed to state "Ciel Phantomhive and his little Lady Miss…Eloise are the property to my Master now."

"Property?" Ciel barked, as Eloise seethed "No way."

"Who do you think you…?" Drocell cut off Ciel.

"The proof is there, you're marked by the ring you're wearing," he said, his dark indigo eyes flashing in the beams of the moonlight.

"It's a Hope piece" Drocell seemed to drone on, "The very piece my Master sends out to those who are to become his dolls."

"Master?" Sebastian enquired with a frown on his face.

Drocell opened his arms, taking them away from his music box, "If Ciel Phantomhive is going to become a doll, an exquisite doll made up of silver and gold."

Eloise's limp hand was grabbed, she turned her head as she was dragged back and Ciel looked up at her with his dark eyes. "Stay close Eloise" she murmured.

Sebastian smirked at Drocell before he pointed his finger and waved at him.

"_Silver and gold will be stolen away, stolen away, stolen away. Silver and Gold will be stolen away my Fair Lady."_

Drocell's face was incorrigible and Eloise felt a knot tighten in her stomach as his fingers twitched. He brought them back to his music box and Eloise's eyes widened as Sebastian picked Ciel up and made a dash to the window.

Leaving her behind.

"Wait" she cried, running after them "Sebastian wait till I-…" her lower body slammed against the window pane as she watched the two disappear into the darkness. "He left me" she whispered, "That damned Demon…" her fists clenched on the windowsill and she heard Drocell slump to the floor behind her.

"I'm thinking to myself" the words came out "That Ciel Phantomhive shall return, after all, he won't leave you behind Miss."

His dark eyes framed by his large hat, locked with Eloise's "You will do for now" he droned. He held out his hand and Eloise screamed.

* * *

><p>Sebastian landed on a bridge, far away from the mansion where he had left Eloise and Elizabeth. He sat Ciel down whose face was twisting in anger as an echo of a scream was heard through the still, night air.<p>

"There we are" Sebastian said looking down to his Master "You're safe."

He couldn't help but looked surprised when Ciel reached up and slapped him clean across his face. It left a small stinging mark and the Demon could only look down to the livid Master.

"You left BOTH Lizzie and Eloise! They're still in there! You abandoned Eloise in the room with Drocell, who knows what he has done to her!"

"I ordered you to investigate the string of kidnappings did I not? Lizzie and Eloise are kidnapped victims. Eloise is injured! You-…"

"That order negated the contract" Sebastian smoothly cut in "You safety is the first priority with me, not anybody else. I have devoted myself to your service and protection; it _has _been more than two years now."

The moon was obscured by clouds and Ciel was able to see the glowing red irises that was the Demonic Butler "I cannot let somebody steal you away from me now can I?" he asked. Without another word, Ciel reached into his coat, pulled out the smaller Hope diamond piece, and put it on his finger above the first.

"Apparently they show the next target" he smirked "I have two of them, so that means I have been doubly marked, protecting me is going to prove quite difficult."

Sebastian only returned Ciel's smirk "I'm not afraid of hard work," he drawled putting a hand on his chest before a piercing howl sliced through the air.

A howl that was unmistakably Pluto's.

"I searched the mansion top to bottom," Sebastian said, his gaze following to where the howl was heard. "I found no sign of Lady Elizabeth, the only place left is that sealed-off tower."

Said tower, not looking very inviting or safe at all.

* * *

><p>"Where have you taken me?" Eloise snapped as she flailed her legs, "I gave you no permission to hoist me up the way you did. Put me down you <em>brute<em>!"

Eloise was thrown to the floor and the darkness concealing her eyes was taken away as there was a piercing howl through the air.

She scrambled around as silence fell upon her and her wrists came unbound. She shook her tangled hair away from her face, fell back on her good leg, and saw a candle lit room. In the centre of it, Elizabeth sat, looking very…porcelain.

"Lizzie!" Eloise gasped struggling to her feet "I'm going to _murder _that brainless dolt." She looked around the tower room "Come down Drocell, I'm going to introduce you to a place called Hell! You will wish you never put your hands on Lady Elizabeth!"

She backed into a table that was seated in the middle of the room and her eyes scanned over the scribbled chalked words on the stone.

Mannequin pieces were strewn all over the table and she searched the rooftops for any sign of the man.

He couldn't have simply disappeared.

When she heard footsteps, was when her hands and feet began to burn.

She froze on the spot, immobilised by searing hot pain as the door to the room opened and she saw Ciel, Sebastian and an audacious red head Eloise hadn't met before.

"Eloise!" Sebastian said, his red eyes widening "What-…"

"No" Eloise snarled, trying to fight the sensations in her arms and legs, "Guys, you have to-…" she followed with an agonising scream. Her arms snapped forward and she almost seemed to growl to Ciel "G-Get to Lizzie! He's-…"

Sebastian pushed Ciel forward who began to run towards Elizabeth and Eloise's eyes focused on Sebastian "He's controlling me, please…stop this. He'll hurt L-…" another scream came from her and as she tried to fight the bonds that surrounded her, large cuts appeared on her hands and dark red blood began to stream from her hands, decorating her dress, shoes and the floor.

Her arms reached up and she was pulled up into the air, just as Elizabeth was pulled up into the air as well. High from the roof beams, Drocell's voice came out, "You see how their bodies move without them meaning too? They're my dolls, my puppets."

"Let her go!" Eloise shouted, straining against the strings in her hands. The more she struggled, the more her hands ripped and the blood was flowing everywhere, the dark read patches soaking her shoes and dripping through as well.

She saw a large blade fly towards Elizabeth and Drocell's voice sounded almost gleeful. "Will she harm the one that she loves the most?"

Elizabeth's large green eyes widened and as she shot forward lifting the axe, she could only scream. "No!"

Sebastian got Ciel out of the way and dodged the attacks dealt by Elizabeth and Sebastian called out to the one they called Grell.

Eloise felt her muscles tensing as she watched the fight below her, her hands began to involuntarily twitch and the sharp pain came washing back as she tried to fight the feelings come over her. Her hands continued to bleed, her hands came together, and through the candle light, she began to manifest a blade of fire using the candle flame.

"It's a puppet string," Sebastian said coolly as he investigated the translucent string. "He's controlling them."

"Look OUT!" Eloise shouted as she was suddenly plunged to the ground swinging her flaming axe. Sebastian got Ciel and Elizabeth out of the way again, he raised his hand as time escaped him and the blade Eloise was wielding cut through his sleeve and his skin.

"Get out" Eloise begged "He's using my powers, please, Sebastian… Get everybody out of here. If Drocell finds out…" she swung the axe again and Sebastian dodged away each and every time. His dark scarlet eyes locked with Eloise's violet "Don't worry Eloise" he assured "I'll get us all out of this. You've done your part."

The axe flared, the flames licking the blade as tears fell from Eloise's eyes. "I'm sorry" she whimpered "I-I failed everybody, he's manipulated me and using my powers to harm the people I care about."

She struggled to open her fingers to relinquish the hold on the flaming axe and as she forced her hands open, her skin spilt and more dark, almost black blood splashed to the floor, dirtying Sebastian's pristine, shined shoes.

The axe dissipated in a bunch of small embers and the room was plunged into darkness. "So then I thought to myself."

Eloise was hoisted back into the air and her strings were wrapped as Drocell splayed open his other fingers and string enveloped Sebastian, Ciel and Grell.

"I have two dolls at my disposal now" he seemed to question, "What materials shall I use this time?"

"Indeed" Sebastian looked up at him "And of what materials are you made?"

Drocell's face seemed shocked and he drew back with wide eyes "Me?" he looked up thoughtfully "Oh, I don't know. What _am _I made out of?"

"Well I'm not sure" Sebastian kept up his tirade, nobody sure on what he was intending. "I'm sure the materials that were used don't seem to be of the highest quality."

"I-I always thought of myself to be human" Drocell stammered "Lately, I've been finding termite crawling out of my ears. Isn't that strange?" he began to scratch his ear, bits of sawdust falling around Sebastian.

Eloise struggled to the roof beam where she was situated, keeping an eye on the distracted Drocell. Then as his eyes wandered, Sebastian kicked up the axe Lizzie had swung around. It landed neatly on the top of his foot and with brute strength, he kicked it up. It hit Drocell on the chin and the puppeteer stumbled back with a gasp.

The strings holding the three on the ground slackened and Sebastian was able to catch the falling axe and jump up neatly.

However, as Drocell stumbled back, the strings around Eloise tightened and she was swung around, her body cracking against the wooden beam. Sebastian cut three of the four strings around her as he aimed for Drocell, but her prosthetic was still connected and Sebastian was forced back onto the floorboards as Drocell used Eloise as a shield.

Eloise clutched at her fake leg trying to keep her weight even. She had other functions of her limbs working, but she needed to free her leg from the grasp of Drocell.

Not to mention, that she now had to manoeuvre herself so none of the people below her could see up her dress.

"So then I thought to myself" Drocell said "I shall use this dying puppet as a shield."

Eloise felt more tears fall from her eyes and deftly, her arms slid up her leg and to the band where the prosthetic band connected to the skin. Sebastian used Grell's face as leverage to propel himself upwards yet again, he raised the axe.

Eloise hesitated for one more moment before she wrenched the bands connecting to her leg as Drocell prepared to pull her up again. There was a sickening, wet _riip _as the prosthetic came away, slicing Eloise's stump.

Through the stream of blood that spattered everywhere, Eloise came away from her fake leg and she fell back to the wooden surface below. Just as Sebastian swung the axe down, Drocell's hands coming up to try and stop the attack.

The blade just piecing the top of his head.

Eloise fell to the floor with a dead 'thunk' struggling up in a pool of red blood. Sebastian followed with Eloise's leg in his hands. Then Drocell fell, sawdust and sand pooling from his head, his eyes blank.

The Ex Cirque began to whimper in pain, her bloody hands clutching her mangled stump trying to stop the bleeding. She was sitting in a pool of her own blood and Sebastian swept down next to her. He ripped her dress and began to bind it tightly around her wounds and Ciel stared on in horror until Lizzie managed to whisper to him.

"Let's get them home," Ciel said as Sebastian tried to staunch the bleeding on Eloise, "We can treat them there, if we don't hurry; we'll lose her.

"Ciel?"

Her voice was cracked and hoarse, both Ciel and Sebastian looked down to the deathly pale Eloise. "I'll be a-al-alright" she struggled "We saved…Lizzie."

She pulled away from Sebastian, crawled over to the motionless figure of Lizzie, and could only smile down at the blonde haired girl.

"At-At least we saved her."

The experience shocked her and she could only fall back in relief and with teary eyes saw Lizzie's smooth face go back to normal and go back to its rosy complexion.

"Everything will be fine now Lizzie" she croaked in relief "It's over."

Her breath hitched and she swayed around as Ciel bent down and put his hand behind Eloise's back "Thankyou Eloise" he said, his gleaming eyes shining in the moonlight.

Eloise looked tired, but she gave him a weak smile "We saved her Ciel, we got away from Drocell."

Another shaky breath escaped her and Ciel looked to her sternly "Do not exert yourself Eloise, without your help, Sebastian nor I could have saved Elizabeth."

"It was great sacrifice" Sebastian's voice came over "He was manipulating you, using you like a marionette Eloise; I have seen a better side to you after what you had done for us."

The dark Demon loomed over her, his red eyes glinting maliciously and Eloise rolled her violet eyes "I don't have the energy to argue with you Sebastian. C-...Can we just go home?"

Ciel smirked up at his Butler "Home she says."

He looked back softly to Eloise who had finally dropped off into unconsciousness still clutching onto Elizabeth.

"I think she's right," Ciel said "Let's go home Sebastian."

* * *

><p>Eloise opened her bleary eyes, it took a moment for her to recognise where she was. Back at the Phantomhive Manor in her allocated bedroom. She saw the ornate, decorated fireplace and felt a surge of comfort wash over her.<p>

She stretched her legs and curled her toes in pleasure and sunk down into her plush pillow pulling the large blanket up and content on going back to sleep. If Sebastian wasn't looming over her then she deemed it all right to go back to sleep.

As she pulled the blanket over herself, she heard an irritated grumble from beside her before the blanket was pulled back.

Eloise froze, her eyes wide open now. She stared at the fireplace, too afraid to turn around to see who was in her _bed_.

Had she been drunk?

_'Please don't let it be Sebastian' _she begged herself.

She sucked in a frightened breath as there was movement beside her, then an arm was flung over her.

Eloise then exhaled and shrieked.

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><p><strong>:D Reviews! <strong>

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	13. Lizzie Throws A Party

**Well hello Dear Readers :) At this current time, its seems like this FanFiction has captivated me and taken more of my motivation, hence the hasty updates ;)**

**But after this particular chapter or the next one... I will need you peoples OPINIONS...**

**After this particular arc in the anime, the Curry Competition comes next... I dont know whether or not I should ADD this in? **

**I can happily skip it to the next arc but it is up to you readers to decide what you want... So please LEAVE your comments and let me know...**

**Contribution is very welcome.**

**On another Note... Yes, this is my own adaptation of Elizabeth throwing a Birthday Party for Ciel, I hope you like..**

**Also. I had to find a name for a certain character, i KNOW this isnt his real name, but I needed to improvise and it what I came up with and actually liked.**

**So enjoy the Birthday Arc**

* * *

><p>Her scream reverberated throughout the entire room.<p>

Eloise flung the hand off her, along with the blanket and anything she had on her.

There was a cry of shock and Eloise fell out of the bed with a cry of pain. She saw the stump of her legs all bandaged neatly, without the rest of the prosthetic limb.

"What?"

She grasped at it, wincing as she did so before the memories flooded her and the memory of her pulling her leg from her socket and falling to the floor burned the back of her eyes.

She looked up.

Now for the pervert sleeping in her bed...

"Ellie?"

It was an old nickname, but one she still went by. Besides Joker rarely using it, there was one other.

As she craned her head, the doors burst open and Eloise was greeted by the sight of Ciel and Sebastian both with unfathomable looks on their faces.

She looked around. Her breathing then stopped.

Her large violet eyes widened at the person before her. Her hands shot up to her mouth and she restrained a sob as the tears flooded her eyes and spilled down onto her cheeks.

She sat there crying for a minute before she withdrew her hand and inhaled a shaky breath before reaching out to the person above her.

"You woke up..."

Dagger smiled softly, holding out his hand and helping Eloise up back onto the bed.

As the Trickster heaved herself up to her one good leg, she fell against the mattress and enveloped her old friend in a suffocating embrace.

"I'm so happy you're here," Eloise cried into the white cloth of his shirt, "Dagger, I prayed every day that you would come back to me, you did! I'm so happy."

Daggers shirt began to go sodden with the amount of tears cascading down Eloise's cheeks and she clutched at his chest.

"I couldn't save anybody; I'm a failure Dagger, such a failure."

"Hey..."

Dagger grabbed Eloise by the shoulders, pushed her back slightly, and put his fingers beneath her chin to cock her head up so he could look down in her large eyes. "I've heard everything Ell," he whispered, "It's not your fault, we followed Peter and look what happened to us. We can...get through this."

Dagger's large hazel green eyes went glassy with his own tears and Eloise felt another tear trail down her cheek.

"I'm lucky to have you here" Dagger said "We have each other and we can overcome anything that will stand in our way."

Eloise nodded, before leaning forward and hugging Dagger again. She didn't want to let him go, afraid that if she did, he'd melt from her arms and she would be alone once more.

She pulled back when a shadow loomed above them and the distinct figure of Sebastian Michaelis smirked down to Eloise.

"Come now Miss Eloise," he drawled, holding out his hands and lifting Eloise off the bed.

Eloise's eyes widened in horror before the Butler stood her up on her wobbling one leg, holding her hands for support.

"We need to get you cleaned up and get your leg."

"Get your hands off her!" Dagger shouted, sitting upright on the bed, his wild caramel hair tufting out to the side, "Stay away! I'll help her myself."

"S-Sebastian" Eloise whispered, looking down to her useless stump, "I-I done it again..." more tears fell, Sebastian quirked a brow down to her messy brown hair, "Again you say? Interesting... Now, enough standing around I have to get you cleaned."

"What did I just say!" Dagger announced furiously, this time getting off the bed and facing Sebastian. "I don't like being ignored, now hand her over."

Sebastian smirked at him "No."

Dagger looked slightly shocked at the blatant answer until the ice-cold voice of the Master filled the room.

"So Dagger? I know you want to protect Eloise, but you must see this. Sebastian and I have witnessed what had happened to her over these past couple of weeks. We witnessed what she had done days previous to harm herself so. We know what we are doing to help her... I suggest you butt out and let us help her."

Dagger blinked back in shock before falling back onto the bed and Sebastian took the opportunity to swing Eloise up bridal- style and take her towards the doors.

Eloise gasped at the sudden gesture and stared up at Sebastian with wide eyes, "This will probably be the _only _time I allow you to carry me like this again."

"Then I must drag this out then shouldn't I?" Sebastian smirked and Eloise scowled "I think not."

"Stop arguing!" Ciel scolded, "I don't need you two arguing, we have work to do after this. We do not have time to be dallying around!"

"Yes Master" Sebastian bowed his head with a smirk and Eloise rolled her eyes and smiled down to the Earl, "Yes Ciel."

They strode out into the hallway and over the Butler's shoulder, Eloise saw Dagger padding out after them. He kept a rapt eye on Sebastian's back and she couldn't help but smile at her over-protective friend.

As they crossed the hall, there were choruses of happy cheers.

The four walking down the hall, gazed up and saw Finni, Mey-Rin and Bard come running towards them.

"Miss Eloise is awake, yes she is" Mey-Rin cried as Finni lurched forward against Sebastian and threw his arms enthusiastically around Eloise "I'm glad your back now!" he said, "Everybody was really worried about you, even Sebastian and the Young Master."

As Finni drew back, Eloise snuck a sly glance to Ciel.

"Worried huh?"

"Nonsense" Ciel said dismissively "I have no time to be worried."

Eloise chuckled and Bard folded his arms across his chest, "Does that mean, I have me cookin' partner back?" he drawled, the butt of his cigarette hanging from his lips. Eloise nodded with a smile, "I'm glad that you guys seemed to miss me, even though we haven't known each other for very long, but it makes me feel wanted again."

Sebastian pulled her away and they began to walk again.

"Finni get back to weeding the gardens"

"Bardroy, we have preparations for Lunch. Get busy"

"Mey- Rin, you have to clean the dishes and get the cutlery polished, there is much to be done" Sebastian scolded looking to the servants. "Get back to work!"

"Right" The servants chorused as they scuttled down the hall.

Eloise looked up to Sebastian, "They were only saying hello to me" she protested, "There's no need to be mad at them."

"We all have work to do" Sebastian said disapprovingly before sending a glance back to Dagger behind them.

"I want you to get dressed and presentable whilst we help Eloise. I do not want you wandering around in your pyjamas!"

Dagger was going to argue but Eloise sent him a pleading glance over Sebastian's shoulder, "Please Dagger, do it for me? I know Sebastian is a jerk but I promise I will come out and be with you all day today, I have so much to tell you!"

Dagger still seemed conflicted, but he was more inclined to listen to Eloise. He nodded "Alright" he whispered, "I'll see you soon."

He turned heel over the maroon and golden carpets and walked back down the hall.

"A jerk?" Sebastian began to walk again "After all we've been through together Eloise and you still have the inclination to call me names?"

"Of course" Eloise said waving her hand "You didn't have to seem so smug when you came to save the day back at Drocell's tower."

Sebastian led her into the elegant bathroom and stood her on the fluffy white mat balancing her on her one leg and Ciel came back over with her prosthetic leg, with the sheen of silver and gold still visible.

It made shivers run up and down Eloise's spine seeing it again, she looked away and Sebastian sat her on the edge of the large bath, pulled out her stump, and began to unwind the bandages.

Eloise stared at it sadly, "It's caused so much mess."

Sebastian continued to get the bandages and wraps off, "It must have been a terrible thing to pull off Eloise, the way it had been administered. I'm surprised it even functioned at all."

Eloise grimaced when she saw the scabby stump. Blood still seeped from the wounds and it hitting the air, it began to throb.

She grimaced and moved the stump away from Sebastian, "It hurts, don't touch it!"

"I have no choice"

"DONT _touch it_!"

Sebastian looked up at her, his scarlet eyes glinting in annoyance, "Maybe it was easier to keep you unconscious. So much more difficult like this."

He grabbed hold of Eloise's useless stump and began to clean it as Ciel stood by and watched the two with an unfathomable look in his sharp blue eye.

'Why was he standing there?'

Eloise grunted in pain, her face pinching in pain. "You hurt!" she shouted "Haven't you ever heard of the word gentle?"

"Hold still" Sebastian scolded "It's as if you haven't heard of the word gentle Eloise! You are the one who pulled your leg _off_. How am I compromising the act of being gentle?"

"Will she able to wear her leg today or not?" Ciel said sharply and Sebastian shook his head "Its healing a lot slower than what I had intended young Master."

"Why are you so desperate to have my leg back on?" Eloise asked, "Just shove it back on, I'll deal with the pain, if you have work to do, leave me alone and I'll do it..."

"That's not the case" Ciel said sharply "Lizzie wanted to throw me a Birthday Party after our whole ordeal, she was grateful to you for risking yourself so she wanted to throw a lunch party for you along with my party."

"Oh" Eloise said flatly, "I really don't..."

"We are going to have to bear it," Ciel said.

"That's why you're in here with us?" Eloise said with a smirk, "You're avoiding Lady Elizabeth!", she looked down to her stump, "But I only have one leg, I'm not going to be much fun at all."

Sebastian chuckled "Lady Elizabeth had it all planned out don't you worry Eloise, she's planned the whole thing out. To the decorations around the Manor, to everybody's Outfits, even yours and your companions." He lowered her stump carefully "She even had it planned that if you were unable to re-connect your leg in time for the party, she had organised a walking cane to suit a young woman."

"She didn't... did she?" Eloise didn't want to believe the Butler but he only nodded "You will get to know Lady Elizabeth and the lengths she goes to in throwing parties. Nobody gets left behind in this Manor."

Eloise suppressed a sigh and Sebastian got up with her dirty bandages in hand. "I'll allow you to have your bath Eloise, when you are done. Notify me and I will re-wrap your leg and you can get changed into your outfit."

"Brilliant-..." Eloise sighed.

* * *

><p>The gown was an exquisite Rose Red.<p>

The red split up the top, dipping low across Eloise's breasts, showing white silk before the red trimming pinched together on her middle before spreading out again, showing the white silk.

Gold trimming laced the edges of the red fabric and the sleeves were cut at the shoulder, leaving a little bit of skin before looping back across her arm near her elbow.

A large Red headband with a large red and gold rose sat beside it and Eloise could only smile wryly at it.

"Trust Lizzie to go overboard" she whispered.

She picked up the dress and several small boxes tumbled out onto her now, neatly made bed and the Ex-Cirque quirked a brow and bent down to pick them up. Her eyes widened when she saw a large golden necklace with a large ruby pendant decorated with small diamonds nestled in the silk of the box, the others containing a matching bracelet and ruby ring, looking much like Ciel's Blue Diamond Hope Ring.

"Over the top" Eloise whispered staring at the red garments before her "I better not tell her that blue is my favourite colour now."

She picked up her undergarments and grimaced at the corset, _"I'm going to have to bite my tongue and wear it_" she thought sadly.

With a lot of difficulty, Eloise managed to wind herself around, put on her necessary clothes, and silk before falling on the bed with her one leg hurting.

She sighed before calling out to the slightly open bedroom door.

"Sebastian!"

Not a minute had passed before there was a slight knock on her door and Sebastian let himself in. Eloise stared to her corset and clothes hopelessly "I need help."

Sebastian walked over refraining to smirk at the helpless look on Eloise's face. He helped her up, fixed her gown, and grabbed the corset.

"It's hard to balance on one leg when you're trying to dress yourself," Eloise said in her defence, "My legs hurt enough as it already, putting all my weight on one is making it tired."

"Look, I will get your cane when I Put your corset on" Sebastian said wrapping it around her and tightening the drawstrings.

Eloise pulled a face as it squashed her chest, she wobbled precariously on her one leg as Sebastian knocked her off balance but the Butler kept her steady and when Eloise could barely breathe, was when Sebastian tied it off and sat her on the bed. "I'll go and receive your cane off Lady Elizabeth."

As he left, Eloise pouted at her half-dressed attire.

"I can get the dress on" she huffed "I don't need Sebastian to dress me."

She grabbed the gown and flopped back on her bed to pull the dress on the easy way. As she pulled it up, she realised with dread that her hips wouldn't fit through the tight pinch where her chest would be.

She would have to put the dress on over the top.

Eloise struggled out of it and looked at the amount of fabrics the gown had with dread. She separated the silk from the red fabric and made the arduous task of trying to put it over her head. About halfway through, Eloise realised with dread that she was stuck in the fabrics.

The more she tried to struggle out the more bound she became and she felt like a complete fool.

"W-What have you done?"

Eloise stopped struggling and waved her hands, "I'm stuck and I can't stand up! I hate this!"

Eloise felt herself be pulled up by cool hands and her dress was readjusted. "You left the button done up" the voice chided with a laugh "There we go."

The dress fell down with ease then, Eloise poked her head through, and her eyes adjusted on the surprisingly well-groomed form of Dagger.

"Thanks" she breathed, fighting down the blush staining her cheeks "I can't believe it, I hate trying to balance and trying to do _simple _things, like dressing myself!"

"Don't worry about it" Dagger smiled, reaching out, grabbing Eloise's long brown tresses, and pulling them out from the confines of her dress. "I'll be here to help you, do you want me to grab anything else for you?"

Eloise nodded and stooped down low to pick up the ruby pendant.

"Can you put this on for me?"

Dagger took the long golden chain from the box with wide eyes, "Doesn't she look after everybody well here? This must'a cost a fortune." He looped the necklace around Eloise's neck and clipped it up on the back before letting it sit neatly on her chest.

Eloise looked at herself in the mirror in her red gown.

Despite her hair looking like a rats nest, she admired herself, twisting around to admire the flowing dress, "I guess I do like the colour red."

Dagger whistled lowly "Looks pretty good on ya Ell" he drawled with a charming smile "You can look good... You surprise me."

"Ha Ha" Eloise laughed sarcastically "Help me over to the chair, what can I do with my hair?"

Dagger helped her hop over to her chair and as she sat down, Dagger grabbed her headband and her other little jewellery boxes and sat them in front of her. "This one has rose clips in them," Dagger said, handing another one to Eloise.

The Cirques stared at Eloise's reflection before Dagger smiled and grabbed the hairbrush "I have an idea, pretty please let me do your hair? You have much longer hair than what Sis and Wendy had." Eloise snorted, "Dagger has a girly side after all?"

"I don't love my hair as much as Joker did" Dagger snorted dismissively, running the brush down Eloise's hair, "he had to make sure that every spike was pinned back and perfect... He was too much work."

Eloise stared at Dagger's thoughtful expression on his face in the mirror. He wanted to show that their deaths didn't bother him, but Eloise knew her brother better than that. He was troubled by his Families death but he didn't want to upset her.

"I know" Eloise whispered "But hey, let's not think about that and think about it. We have things to be doing."

Dagger nodded and smiled at her reflection, "I'm trying to do it to keep you happy Ell, its sad when you cry, a pretty lady like you shouldn't cry."

His delicate fingers traced down Eloise's hair, separating them into three segments and tying a long plait quickly. He put the headband on, allowing the rose to tilt to the side. He allowed her long bangs to hang down past her ears before grabbing the Rose clips and pinning them back, leaving little wisps in Eloise's face. "There" he smiled "Beautiful, yet simple"

Eloise put the Bracelet and the Ring on her finger before the door opened slightly and Sebastian re-appeared looking irritated.

In his hand, he held Eloise's cane.

His eyes rested on Dagger in his ebony black suit with his red tie and to Eloise adorned in red at her mirror.

"I'm sorry" he said, "I was the attention of Lady Elizabeth, she wouldn't allow me to leave." He handed Eloise an intricately carved cane with flowers on it and a red ballet flat. "She was going to give you a heeled shoe, but as you can see, she decided against it."

He bent down and slipped the shoe onto Eloise's foot before standing straight and making his way to the door. "The Processions will be starting shortly, Eloise you shall meet with the Master before we head down the stairs and out into the Celebrations. Since it is for you two."

He left the room and Dagger watched him go.

"He's rather sour isn't he?" he asked, "I still can't get over the fact that it's still _Black _and _Smile, _they're liars..."

"They aren't that bad" Eloise sighed, "They helped us after all we went through and they are allowing us to stay in the Manor. We should be thankful for Ciel's generosity, he isn't very nice to others."

Dagger offered his arm to Eloise and helped her up "I'm going to shut my mouth and let you enjoy your day. If you would be so lovely and allow me to escort you?"

Eloise heaved herself up, leant against Dagger, and adjusted her cane. "Of course" she smiled "Lead the way, I'll be here with you."

* * *

><p>Ciel was dressed in deep azure. He wore a long coat with gold buttons down the front and dark pants with heeled shoes to make him look taller. For once, he was without a decorative little hat, his Prussian blue hair swept to the side and the ever present eye patch was on his left eye.<p>

He looked Eloise and Dagger up and down before Eloise smiled to him "You look nice" she commented and Ciel nodded at her briefly "Elizabeth done well in choosing your outfit."

...Ciel's way of saying that she looked good...

"Are we ready to go out?" Sebastian appeared beside Ciel and looked at Eloise leaning on her cane and gripping on Dagger's arm. "Will you be alright to walk down the stairs Eloise?" he asked and Dagger nodded "Of course" he snapped "I'll help her."

Sebastian smirked "Very Well."

He stepped back, held out his hand, and gestured out. "Good luck."

"Hey why do we need good luck?" Eloise asked as everybody walked forward "Sebastian why do we need good lu-..?"

They walked to the top of the stairs and Eloise stared with wide eyes at the Manor entrance hall. Decked out in flowers and ribbons across the entire hall. There was a large banner across the door, which read '_Happy Birthday Ciel.'_

There were cheers and claps from a large crowd of people and Eloise felt like she was going to fall over backwards if Dagger didn't have a death grip on her.

Ciel looked unamused and irritated but he steeled himself and he began to walk forward and Dagger dragged Eloise behind him. They made their careful way down the stairs and Elizabeth broke through the crowd in a deep violet dress with many frills.

Whatever colour that girl wore, she looked good _every single time_.

"Ciel!" she cried happily "Do you like it?" she swirled him around in a happy embrace before looking at him with adoration glowing in her green eyes. "Yes" Ciel _smiled _"You have done very well Lizzie, its beautiful."

Lizzie beamed before looking to Eloise "You look beautiful in red" she cried "I knew it would suit you" she looked to Dagger "You look stunning" she smiled "You could almost rival Sebastian!" she flung out her arms and embraced Eloise, weary of her missing leg. "I hope you like it Eloise."

"It's wonderful" Eloise gushed "You have a wonderful decorative flair Lizzie, I'm jealous. You have tremendous talent, Ciel is very, _very _lucky to have an imaginative and beautiful fiancée."

Lizzie almost melted at her compliment before pulling away and clapping her hands together "Thank you Eloise, this all for you and Ciel today!"

She hooked arms with Ciel and dragged him down the rest of the stairs and Dagger followed more slowly, letting Eloise hop down each step.

She didn't recognise most of the other people there, there for Ciel and his birthday. But it wasn't like she didn't mind, she recognised Sebastian, Finni, Mey-Rin, Bard and Tanaka all dressed in outfits Lizzie had picked out for them.

Everybody chatted and spoke and Dagger led Eloise around the tables before an obnoxious blonde haired man approached them.

"Lovely like a robin" he said handing Eloise a Rose, "I recognise both of you, how on Earth did Earl Phantomhive acquire the Cirques from the Noah's Ark Circus?"

"There was an accident" Dagger said brusquely, his green eyes flashing in disdain "He has taken us in and given us somewhere to live, that is all you need to know."

"It is a private matter between us and the Earl," Eloise said, in hopes of making herself clear. "By the way I am Eloise Ivah and this is my companion Dagg-..." she paused before Dagger sighed, held out his hand I'm Oscar McKinley, Dagger is my stage name and my preferred name, but sometimes, you have to give your real name."

"I am the Viscount Lord Druitt" the flamboyantly said, "Lovely to meet you both, I do hope you enjoy the party." He waved his hand and swooped upon the next girl dressed beautifully and Dagger rolled his eyes "People like that annoy me, couldn't he see that I was the one escorting you, doesn't that usually mean 'Stay Away?'"

"Are you jealous?" Eloise smiled to her brother "I've never seen you so protective before Dagger, what is the matter? I can take care of myself, Ciel and Sebastian will look out for me as well. You really don't have to worry."

"It's a strange place" Dagger said heatedly "I don't trust anybody here. You need to be protected and since Boss isn't here, he's not here to protect you, it's up to me." His gaze swept the room again and Eloise sighed, "its fine Dagger, don't worry. I've managed these weeks past, I appreciate your concern but don't go silly with it."

She noticed everybody leaving the hall and going around to the side doors leading out to the back terraces. She pulled at Dagger's arms and gestured to the departing crowds and muttered "Everybody is leaving to go outside, let's go out and see what Lizzie has done out there?"

Dagger nodded and escorted her across the hall and to the doors on the side. As they reached the entrance, Eloise was once again dazzled by the creativity flair Lizzie had created.

Finni had done a good job on the gardens and the trees, Lizzie had set up tables and chairs, a large buffet table was off to the side and a large dancing floor was placed on the middle under a large white marquee, which was where Lizzie was conveniently pulling Ciel.

The day was gorgeous, despite the slight wind but the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, which was rather rare for England in the least.

Eloise saw people gathering on the dance floor and watched everybody start to dance as Sebastian had orchestrated a band as well.

Dagger must of noticed the gleam in her eyes and nudged her slightly "I know that you are short a leg, but that doesn't stop you from dancing. Come with me."

Eloise had to be careful where she put her cane and where she hopped through the crowds. As they reached the hardwood of the dance floor, Dagger smiled down to Eloise "Remember when you first joined the Circus and you had two left feet?"

Eloise went red as she recalled the memory.

"Joker had to teach you how to dance? So he made you stand on his feet and he danced with you? Let's do that, don't worry about falling or losing your balance. I'll keep a good hold of you. Let's show these prissy people what us Cirques can do."

Eloise nodded with a smile gracing her face "Yeah" she agreed, "Good idea Dagger, haven't done this in quite a while huh? It'd be nice." She went and put her cane against the leg of the white Marquee and Dagger took her across the floor and hoisted her up on the top of his shoes.

People looked at them out of the corner of their eyes and Dagger winked down to Eloise "You ready?"

Eloise nodded, the filtering light dancing off her diamantes and her large necklace, "I am."

Dagger put his arm around her waist to support her and held her other hand gently in his before spinning around and doing their own unique dances that they had practised in the Circus. It was a lot different from the traditional dances the Nobles danced.

A dance with twists and turns, even though Eloise couldn't really dance her part and Dagger had to fully support her. It still stood out enough for people to gaze in their general direction.

Dagger bowed Eloise low, their faces inches apart and Eloise had the fleeting fear that Dagger was about kiss her.

_'Don't be an idiot_' her mind scolded her.

Dagger pulled her back up in a swirl of Red and Gold, her long braid twirling around her. Her cheeks were blushed pink as Dagger smirked at her, his caramel hair seemingly blonde under the sun's rays.

Eloise knew that the dance was against Noble's standards, getting close and sometimes intimate between the Dance Partners and she _was _aware of the slightly pink faces of the women around them.

They spun around once more, but since Eloise couldn't do the last part on where she put her leg around her partner's waist. Dagger pulled her close instead, her eyes locking directly with Dagger's. She could feel his heart pounding against hers and both of their breaths were rapid as they tried to catch it.

"Well done, dancing with one leg" Dagger smirked and Eloise blushed "I see that you had gotten better at dancing." She smiled slyly "Still not as good as Joker though."

"Not with you" Dagger chuckled, relinquishing his tight grip on Eloise and allowing her to step back and breathe.

Eloise adjusted her dress, a shadow appeared beside her, and Sebastian handed her the cane. "Interesting dance moves you have there" he complimented "You did well considering you only have one leg at this current time Miss Eloise."

There were whispers from the crowds around them and Dagger raised his hands sheepishly and put them behind his head. "That's what I said, she's a good dancer isn't she?"

Sebastian led her from the dance floor and pulled up a chair, as she sat down she lifted her dress slightly to fix her shoe, revealing indeed that she only had one leg.

Lizzie came running over, dragging Ciel like a doll behind her. Her cheeks were red and looked to Eloise with wide eyes.

"Can you teach me how to dance like that Eloise?" she asked.

Eloise straightened up in shock "Lizzie!" she exclaimed, "I can't do that! You and Ciel are Nobles. Dagger and I are only Cirques. We can get away with raunchy moves like that, not elegant people of Society."

"Besides" Sebastian smirked at the blushing Ciel "The Young Master cannot even master the simplest moves of the Waltz. There will be no way to teach him moves like that."

"Joker was the one that taught me how to dance like that" Eloise admitted "He was a good dancer, one of the best in the Circus and I was the unfortunate one that was his partner."

"I wasn't as good as the Boss" Dagger's voice came over "It was a little hard to keep her on my feet as well, but we managed, we did get the desired reaction and made all the pretty ladies swoon." The Marksman looked around the Party "I'm going to get something to eat? Joining me Ellie?"

Eloise shook her head, "I'm staying here to try and catch my breath, I'll be here, so don't worry if I'll disappear or anything."

Dagger gaze one last look to Sebastian before backing off and making his way to the buffet table and once he was out of earshot Ciel turned his red cheeks to Eloise, his voice low and unamused.

"He almost _kissed _you," he hissed "On the dance floor, which is inappropriate behaviour, especially towards a young lady like yourself."

"He's never done that before" Eloise said, "It actually surprised me, I didn't know what to think or _do_." She blushed "The only one who actually dared to go any closer than that was Joker, but that was understandable... Not _Dagger_."

Sebastian stood back and sighed "I witnessed Mey-Rin receive quite a bad nosebleed before passing out on the grass. Finni and Bardroy would be attending to her as of now."

"I've done my damage" Eloise chuckled "If anybody wants to dance with me now, they will know that they will have sore feet."

"I think she's a lovely dancer" Elizabeth exclaimed, "If she didn't have that cane ad was able to have her other leg, she will be able to meet the other people properly. How was I supposed to find a match for her when she is almost confined to a chair?"

"A match?" Eloise sputtered "Lizzie, you don't mean something along the lines of 'Partners' do you?"

Lizzie cocked her head "Of course, you're too lovely to be left alone, since you aren't part of the Circus any more, we could integrate you into our Society."

Eloise sent an incredulous glance to Sebastian before trying to say kindly "I appreciate your efforts Lizzie, but I was in a relationship. I'm still trying to-..."

"Is he here with you?" Lizzie asked looking around the crowd "Who was he?"

Eloise sighed, "If you saw the Circus Lizzie, it was the one with the red hair, the Ringleader- Joker. He was mine... and no, he isn't here."

Elizabeth spun around "He isn't a gentleman who is dedicated to his betrothed if he abandons you. It is a sign for you to move on, things change."

Ciel and Sebastian cast a gaze to each other and Eloise gazed darkly up to Sebastian before smiling to Elizabeth. "You're right, a Gentleman should _never _leave his Lady behind. But we were in an accident Lizzie and I fear Joker may not be alive any more. I'm still sad about him dying. I need time."

"Oh" Lizzie said, "I just...just thought, the way you were dancing with him, I thought you didn't... I'm sorry."

She looked back to Ciel who shook his head "Come on Lizzie."

The Earl led his Lady back to the Dance Floor and Sebastian smirked down to Eloise and held out his hand, his scarlet eyes gleaming:

"_May I have this dance?"_

* * *

><p><strong>Readers who Follow TRICKY or any other Fan Fiction under my name!<strong>

**Due to the epic failure of the last chapter... I shall try again...**

**ANYONE who has a blog under Tumblr, dont hesitate to find me and follow me... I will keep updates on there and where people can talk to me a little more.. Ask questions etc etc..**

**REMOVE THE SPACES... http : / / domain - of - jess . tumblr . com /**


	14. Ciel's 'Enjoyable' Birthday

**Alright, before everybody thinks that I have been lazy and not writing... -shifty eyes- I am currently writing Chapter 20 of this story :) So chapters will come out every few days.**

**Leave the suspense I suppose.**

**Well... Enjoy?**

* * *

><p>"Your name is Oscar?"<p>

Dagger smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, "Yeah, it was the name I was given by my parents before I was cast off. It's all I remember."

Finni cocked his head, "So you don't like your name at all? Is that why you go by Dagger?"

"That's right," Dagger said, lifting a fork full of food before shoving it in his mouth. He swallowed it and gestured the fork to Eloise's direction.

"We all go by Stage Names; Eloise went by Trickster originally but kept her name as well. We called her either by her Stage, Eloise, Ell or Ellie. Joker called her 'Princess' but only he could get away with calling her that."

"That's a lot of names" Finni admitted, putting his finger on his chin.

Dagger shrugged "Everybody forgot their names after Joker gave us our Stage Names. But...I remembered mine."

Dagger stopped talking, his gaze falling on Eloise as Sebastian helped her up to her foot and took her to the dance floor, an obvious smirk on his face.

Dagger didn't like the Butler...There was something that he didn't like about him and the way he treated Eloise...was different to how he treated everybody else."

"Ohh" Finni exclaimed, clapping his hands together at the sight of the two. "Sebastian is taking Miss Eloise to the floor for a dance. We have to go watch! Sebastian is a really-..." the Gardener had already taken off before he even finished the sentence to Dagger.

…

"You don't have to feel obligated to dance with me" Eloise said staring up to Sebastian "I'm perfectly happy in sitting down and watching everybody else..."

"Nonsense" Sebastian smirked "It might give me a chance to actually speak with you Eloise, I feel like we haven't really... what do I say?"

He propped Eloise neatly on his shiny black shoes and his arm crept around her waist and held her firmly.

With his other hand, he gestured to the Orchestra at the end of the Dance floor and they began to play a soft symphony for a classic waltz.

Couples began to twirl and dance over the floor at the soft music and Sebastian swung Eloise around gracefully.

"What music is this?" she asked, listening to the music playing and Sebastian smiled down to her. "It's rather new by standards, but good symphonies music to dance to, it is called 'Waltz of the Flowers' composed by one Pyotr Tchaikovsky of Russia. Do you like it?"

Eloise closed her eyes and allowed herself to be swept away by the music, "I love it." Sebastian twirled her around, giving her a feeling of euphoria "How did you get music all the way from Russia? I didn't think we had an alliance?"

"I have my ways" Sebastian smirked "I myself, enjoy classical music. I saw it befitting to play at this party. I can assure you that I can play music from famous composers such as Wolfgang Mozart and Ludwig Van Beethoven; Tchaikovsky is still alive last I recall, so I can acquire more music if need be."

Eloise smirked "Still as cocky as always aren't you Sebastian? Is there anything you _can't _do?"

"Well I'm not perfect" Sebastian smiled to her "I live only to serve the Young Lord. All I can say is that… I'm one _Hell _of a Butler."

…

"Do you think I did a good job on the Party Ciel?" Elizabeth beamed to her fiancée "Are you enjoying yourself?"

Ciel gave her false smile to ease her heart, "You done an excellent job Lizzie. Everybody is enjoying themselves."

His eye traced the floor until he caught sight of Sebastian and Eloise swaying to the music. They were talking and judging by the look on Sebastian's face, he was antagonising the Ex Cirque.

Her Cirque Companion, on the other hand was sitting back at the buffet table, shovelling food down his throat as he watched the dancing pair, the shadow of distrust and jealousy over his face.

Elizabeth followed Ciel's gaze and rested on Eloise and Sebastian.

"Do you think she is enjoying herself? I hope so, she helped you save my life Ciel, it was the least I could do to save her."

"She is" Ciel said abruptly "She isn't used to having things done for her, you're right Lizzie. Watching her with Sebastian, I can see at a glance, that they are polar opposites yet…They are drawn together whether they like it or not by some unseen force."

…

"The way you say that…" Eloise muttered darkly, her violet eyes shading over as she stared up to Sebastian "Are you trying to show the fact that you…?"

Sebastian chuckled "I find it rather amusing don't you think Miss Eloise?"

Eloise shook her head "I know exactly what you are Sebastian, you hide it behind your charismatic charm and cultural sense; To hide the fact that you are a _monster_."

"And how are you going to stop me?" Sebastian leant low and whispered in her ear "There's not much you can do if you aren't willing to fight my _Princess _Eloise."

As they swayed around the dance floor, Eloise said warningly "This does not mean we are buddies on this Sebastian, I still hate you. Since the day we met and I found out who you truly were, I'm only acting nice towards you for the sake of Ciel and Dagger. We need the place to stay."

"Oh the Young Master won't let you go as easy as that" Sebastian smirked "You have wrapped yourself in his life, he has gotten his claws into you, you and your companion are now his pawns. A part of his Game."

"Oh really?" Eloise seethed "Fighting side by side with you? I highly doubt that. We may be Ciel's pawns, but that doesn't mean he can stop fights happening on his own side."

"Is that a challenge?" Sebastian smirked, "The Young Master's Knight against his Bishop?"

"You may be his first line of defence Sebastian" Eloise said "But one step out of line and I will usurp you, I'm not as weak as what you think Demon, watch your back."

"And here I thought you were all so compassionate?" Sebastian chuckled "Does the Young Master know of your standing in this Manor Miss Eloise? Do you intend for him to find out?"

"That's none of your business," Eloise said darkly "Do not open your mouth, I will deal with problems that come my way. I know that I will stop you from killing him Sebastian. Don't get your hopes up."

* * *

><p>The day proceeded normally after the dances.<p>

When Elizabeth decided to break out the cake, Ciel had been mortified when his fiancée had pulled him to the front of the cake, in front of the entire crowd.

Lizzie slapped a party hat on top of his head and the procession Finni, Mey-Rin, Bard and Tanaka cheered, all with their little party hats on as well.

Eloise backed off towards the back of the crowd to avoid the keen eye of Lizzie, Dagger had found his way back to her side and they clung to the shadows as Ciel looked like he was about to die from embarrassment.

Sebastian could only stand off to the side and smirk maliciously at his Master's pain, he handed out the plates and Ciel made the first hasty cut into his cake and handed the knife to his Butler so he could escape.

But Lizzie was no fool.

She clung to Ciel and kept him at the front of the crowd and the Druitt Moron and a Chinese man approached them with an almost ornate, doll-like woman by the latter's side.

"They're perfectly happy without us," Dagger muttered, watching the scene before them "They don't need us here Eloise. Why...Why do you insist on staying here with them?"

Eloise looked to her friend, his pale face, drawn and sad. His large green eyes were shadowed and half hidden by his mop of spiky caramel hair.

"The world will not stop for me" she said "Its not all _about _me. This is Ciel's birthday and Lizzie wanted to celebrate it for him. Not me. Look Dagger, when you were asleep... Ciel allowed me to stay here."

She looked back to the laughing Lizzie and the irritated Ciel.

"Ciel may seem ruthless and cruel, but he is still a child, one that has endured a Past as severe as our own. He needs help and I have decided that I will be the one to stay here and give him it. He's my...friend moreorless and I won't turn my back on him, just like how I will not turn my back on you Dagger."

"His Butler is more than capable Ellie," Dagger argued, now his turn to stare at Eloise "I've been thinking..."

Eloise felt dread pool in the pit of her stomach as she stared back to her fellow Cirque and Dagger blurted out "Why don't we leave and travel the lands to find the Circus again? It's what we both want, Ellie...We can go back to being performers something that we're used to."

Though she was expecting Dagger to say something bad, it still hit Eloise like a boulder.

She had the overwhelming need to cry just then, but she held back and exasperatedly said "Dagger, it won't be the same _ever _again. Even if we do go back; the _memories_."

Dagger started to look upset as Eloise began to rant. "Joker isn't there, Beast, Jumbo, Doll, Peter and Wendy. They're _dead _Dagger, its only you and I. It's not going to change, it's not going to bring them back. I knew that from the start, that's why I decided to stay here!"

She felt awful the instant she saw a tear trail down Dagger's cheek. He hastily wiped it away and Eloise felt her broken heart break some more. She reached up and caressed Dagger's caramel fringe with the black streaked through it and moved it out of his eyes.

"Hey" she said softly "Dagger, I know it's hard. They were our family, but we're given another chance now. We have somewhere to live, food to eat, a bed to sleep in. What more can we ask?"

Dagger blinked his eyes several more times before he gave her a weak smile, "I'm going to stick by you Ellie, you're all I have left. Wherever you go, I'm going to go as well. We're a Team Ell and nobody will take that away from us."

Eloise smiled at him sadly "You're right Dagger, former members or not, we are Cirques and no matter what we stick together." She smiled to him before reaching her arm up and giving him a tight one armed hug.

* * *

><p>She stared at herself in the mirror that night.<p>

Large black bags had formed under her violet eyes and she stared at her miserable self, still clad in brilliant red.

On the dresser in front of her were large rings of Keys.

Some were silver, some were gold and others were green, blue and red.

She reached out and caressed them before sighing. "So much mess," she groaned, "What was I thinking?"

She picked the ring of large Keys up, making them jingle noisily.

"This is what they wanted," she muttered, staring at the Keys miserably "To make me suffer emotionally, not to strip me of my powers. Wanted to teach me a lesson..."

She slammed them down, "Not only am I down the love of my life, I'm also missing one of my Revitalising Healing Keys! What else do you want to take off me?" she rubbed her face wearily "If you are going to take anything, take that damned Demon..."

She heard a slight knock on her door and with a small cry, Eloise grabbed the Key's and in a flurry of silver and gold light, the Keys disappeared and the door opened.

"Ellie? Is everything alright?"

Dagger poked his head in and saw Eloise sitting at the dresser with a somewhat panicked look on her face. She gave him a smile and settled, she gestured him in. "Come in Dagger, what's the matter?"

Dagger softly closed the door behind him and padded over the carpet in bare feet. He sat on the edge of her large bed and kicked his leg out. "That Finni is crazy" he muttered "He's more overwhelming than what Joker was. I had to get out of there."

Eloise chuckled "He's a bit of work, but he is a nice person. I just had to get away entirely, I need peace and quiet."

She reached around the back of her neck and undid the Ruby Pendant, "Running around and dancing all day really took the toll on my leg, its killing me."

"Here" Dagger said heaving himself up to his feet "I'll help you undress Ellie, it must be a pain."

He walked over behind her, started to take out her Rose clips, and undid her hair. He undone the top button at her neck and stood her up from the dresser.

"I can undress myself!" Eloise said indignantly "You're a boy! Get out of my room!"

"Please" Dagger snorted, "You seem to forget that we used to shower together Eloise? I've seen you prancing around scantily dressed anyway. This isn't as half as bad."

He pulled the red gown over Eloise's head and dumped it on the bed, and then he did the mission of undoing Sebastian's tiny knots on the corset.

When Eloise could breathe, she leant back, flopping her head back to stare at her friend "Thanks Dagger, help me over to the bed will you?"

Dagger obliged and helped her over to the bed, where Eloise fell back onto the silk covers and snuggled into the pillow.

"How did you enjoy the Party today?" Dagger asked casually, sitting on the bed beside Eloise "I don't think I have ever seen you so worn out before."

"Today was tiring" Eloise yawned "Having one leg is troublesome as well. It's so sore and stiff, when my other leg heals; I will be so glad to see my prosthetic again."

Eloisa gazed at Dagger, "How is your leg?"

Dagger chuckled and tapped his own prosthetic leg against the wooden floor. "Its fine" he chuckled "Now that we aren't performing anymore, I don't need to get it fixed so often. Still hurts time to time but its nothing to be worried about."

He dropped off into silence, lasting about a full minute. Before it became awkward however, Eloise sat up and put her hand on Dagger's shoulder lightly. "I'm sorry about what I said before" she muttered, "I knew I hurt your feelings when I spoke so brashly about the Circus."

"Don't concern yourself," Dagger said shrugging "You had a point Ellie; I knew it was rather selfish of me to consider it. It would only make it harder for us. Besides…You're happy here. I'm not going to take that away from you."

Eloise lowered her hand and looked to the floor beside her bed, "You're not happy here are you Dagger?"

She began to feel guilty when she heard his strained response "I-I don't understand how you can be so comfortable around here Ellie. I look around and see the people who lied to us about their identity and _ruined _us from the inside. The servants killed us off."

Dagger got to his feet, the mattress bouncing as he abruptly stood up. "Bard killed Beast" he said spinning around to Eloise "He _blew _us up and you are all friendly with him? Ciel and Sebastian? They took you- _us _away from what we knew and now we have to pretend that nothing happened?"

She had a feeling that this is what would be troubling her friend.

Eloise got off her bed herself, picked up her cane and hobbled around Dagger, walking towards her dresser; Eloise opened one of the draws and rummaged through it pulling something out.

Walking back to her dear friend, Eloise lifted her hand and pulled Dagger's up, only to place a golden necklace with gems decorated through it.

"Here" she muttered, "I 'borrowed' it from a stall when Ciel took me to the Ice Festival. It's worth quite a bit if you sell it to a jeweller. It will get you the money you need to find the Circus."

"E-Ellie?" Dagger looked at their hands in disbelief. He pulled his hand away, letting the necklace clatter to the floor. "I won't go without you" he said adamantly "I won't leave you behind."

"I'm trying to help" came her quiet response.

"No, stop thinking that I will take money off you and leave!"

"Dagger!"

The Ex Cirque paused in his brief rant and stared at his friend. As she lifted her head, her violet eyes were watering with tears. "I have something to do here Dagger. I am not leaving this Manor or Ciel Phantomhive. I don't want you to think that you are trapped here. If you want to leave then leave!"

Eloise withheld a sob before striding over the forgotten necklace and to her closet. Pulling out a long silver robe, she slung it on before almost running to the door of her bedroom. "I don't care what you do" she said quietly "I'm not holding you to anything, I want you to be happy."

Then, in a flurry of silver. Eloise the Trickster left Dagger very much alone in the bedroom.

* * *

><p>The Cat sat on the Windowsill in the morning light when Dagger had finally found her that morning. He has his hand in his pocket, the necklace clutched in his fist as he approached the small black cat.<p>

She flickered her ears, sensing that he was walking towards her, she lazily turned her head and blinked her large violet eyes in his direction.

"C-Can we talk?" he said to her hesitantly, "I want to apologise, to your face…It would be a bit awkward if I am caught talking to a cat…"

The Cat flickered her ears once more before jumping from the sill and darting down the hall with silent movements. She disappeared into the shadows and Dagger stood there awkwardly in the Hall as he waited for his friend to return.

That's if she wanted to talk to him and came back.

"_She hates me for what I said to her last night," _Dagger thought with a sinking heart. _"Have I really ruined my chances with her?"_

He let go of the necklace and drew out his clammy hand from his pocket. He wiped the sweat away on his pants and watched the shadows, waiting and hoping for a sign that Eloise would return and speak to him.

He waited another couple of minutes with the dread steadily rising in his chest before there was a rustle of fabrics, and from the shadows, a lithe figure appeared.

Eloise was wearing a simple white gown with her incredibly long hair flowing around her waist, her eyes were still dark and red rimmed from crying.

She walked barefoot down the carpeted hallway; she came to stand in front of Dagger, the light beaming off her in several directions.

"What do you want Dagger" a hushed voice escaped her.

Dagger suddenly felt a flutter of fear in his stomach before he thrust out his hands desperately. "I'm sorry Eloise" he blurted out, "I said stupid things last night, I was being selfish and trying to force you into things that _I _wanted."

He dropped his hands to his sides, "I wanted to tell you Ellie, tell you that I'm not going. I am going to stay here with you and whether you like it or not, I won't leave your side."

Eloise's dull eyes flickered across his face, "I thought you had a problem with the people in the Manor? Would you seriously forgive Bard for killing Beast and Ciel for destroying the Circus?"

"Yes" Dagger heaved, "It's in the Past Ellie, it's still going to hurt, but if I have somebody here to share my pain, I won't feel so alone anymore."

Eloise's eyes shined with tears, one escaping the corner and sliding down her cheek.

"I'm sorry for forcing you Dagger" she whispered, "I didn't mean to sound affronting, I'm glad that I have my family here no matter what."

She stepped forward and grabbed Daggers hands and put them to her chest, "We're here to help eachother Dagger" she sent him a small smile, "Let's do this…together."


	15. The Start of a New Disaster

***Cough* No reason why this is late.**

**Maybe its my new job and me deciding that I like sleep more... o.O**

**Anyway...For those of you out there who have read the Kuroshitsuji Manga... Yeah this is going back onto the Manga for a few chapters. So it will be a bit different and a bit choppy. **

**But hey, enjoy.**

* * *

><p>It had been a week since they had celebrated Ciel's birthday.<p>

Three days which Eloise had finally faced the situation and allowed her prosthetic be reattached none other by the perv Sebastian.

This particular day, Eloise had gone out to fetch the mail, mainly addressed to none other than Ciel Phantomhive. As she walked back through the estate humming to herself, she hadn't noticed the Carriage that had pulled up at the gates behind her.

Little did she know. Chaos would ensue, but that usually happened didn't it? Especially in the Phantomhive Manor.

Eloise knew that she had not had a peaceful day since arriving there.

The trees around her were barren and wicked as the clutches of stormy England Winter engulfed them.

It would be a long time since the throes of harsh and bitter cold would leave them.

For now, the population of the Phantomhive Manor would have to deal with the frost and the present chill in the air.

The plants had long withered and retreated into the soil.

Finni had lied down compost and straw to keep them warm but it had failed. They were not cold plants and the old trees weren't Evergreen, being deciduous. They lost their leaves in the early onset of autumn.

Eloise strode down the path; she stopped looking at the names on the front of the letters and focused her gaze back on the doors of the Manor. She continued to hum under her breath and she walked back up to the steps and disappeared back inside.

* * *

><p>Dagger and Bard were sitting on the barrels against the stone wall in the kitchen when Eloise arrived. Dagger leant against the wall, his hair in disarray and his eyes tired and droopy.<p>

Bard had the usual butt of a cigarette hanging from his mouth as he groaned miserably.

Mey-Rin was looking thoughtfully out the window where she had hung the washing out to dry.

The clouds didn't look to promising as they gathered together with darkening force.

"Jeez this country really only has stormy weather" Bard stated the obvious to Dagger, he waved his hand casually, closing his eyes dissatisfied.

Mey-Rin sighed and said rather worriedly, "It's better if it waited until the washing has dried."

"It'll be fine," Eloise said placing the letters addressed to the Earl on the Kitchen Counter. "It's getting quite windy out there, they'll be dry before it rains." She shrugged off the coat she had donned and hung it on the back of the door.

"If it's always this kind of heavy weather" Bard stated "I'll get all gloomy."

"Yeah the weather does that," Dagger mumbled, "It makes you tired as well." He yawned widely, revealing the inside of his mouth. As he shut it again, his eyes were all glassy from the yawn tears.

"Don't yawn ya dolt" Bard shouted, "You'll make me tired as-..."

Suddenly Bard yawned and Eloise chuckled "Too late."

As she stepped away from the door, she heard an audible step and just as she walked from the door, it suddenly burst inwards with an ear-splitting _'Crash.'_

Bard and Dagger lurched forward, their eyes wide with shock as Eloise jumped away with a yelp of surprise.

"I'm coming in" sang an unfamiliar voice.

As everybody staggered up, two men waltzed into the kitchen. They both had shaggy silver hair and dressed eloquently in suits buttoned up with gold badges.

The younger of the two and the one that had broke down the door smiled casually at the four congregated in the kitchen.

"Is Earl Phantomhive in?" He asked with a bright smile.

"Who the hell are you?" Bard said rudely. His face was weary and Dagger handed him a knife, which both males brandished in defence.

Mey-Rin took a defensive stance and Eloise stepped back unsure of what to think about the newcomers that had broken into the Manor.

The young man looked at the knives in the hands of Bard and Dagger and he smiled somewhat maliciously "What?" he questioned "You'll play with...ME?!"

Suddenly from his belt, he pulled a sword and swung it around himself in a wide arc.

Bard jumped back, Mey-Rin threw herself to the ground with a horrified yelp and Eloise shouted out to Dagger to stay back.

He went for Bard once more before the cupboards beside Eloise's head exploded and the shatter of glass and bullet shells fell about her.

Mey-Rin jumped to her feet, her glasses had come off and to Eloise's shock, her eyes were scarlet and from the pockets of her aprons, she had brandished two pistols and had them aimed at the stranger that had attacked them.

Mey-Rin! The red head that Eloise was friends with; make jokes about her clumsiness, Wielding guns with a savage look on her face.

She fired the guns once more, the bullets ricocheting around the kitchen. The man dodged away smiling widely, he didn't seem fazed that he could be killed. Instead, he called out to Mey-Rin "Double Guns are so cool!"

"But..."

He jumped under the fire of bullets and with amazing agility sprung to Mey-Rin and with an act that was so fast, Eloise had to blink several times to see Mey-Rin's pistols shatter and fall into pieces from the strangers sword.

"I win at close combat."

"_So he's good at sword combat" _Eloise thought savagely, she looked around the kitchen before she saw Bard run to the back of the man going to swing the knife that Dagger had given him.

The man laughed wildly "Its..." he shouted as he lifted his leg.

His foot connected with Mey-Rin's chest and sent her sprawling to the ground coughing up blood. What got Eloise was that the bastard had used her as leverage to launch himself up and flip over the impeding attack Bard was going launch.

"Too bad!" he finally cackled the last of his words.

As he brandished the sword once more, Dagger had thought quickly and grabbed a steel pipe that was against the wall and called out to Eloise.

"Catch Ellie!" he shouted.

Eloise deftly caught the pipe, dashed forward and stopped the sword from coming near Bard as the man went to go hurt him.

Steel clashed against steel and the man twisted his body and landed on his feet and smirked as Eloise stood there panting at her sudden dash over.

"Don't think you can come in here and hurt my friends!" she seethed "Who in the hell do you think you are?"

The man chuckled before taking a stance and Eloise did the same.

"Oh" he chuckled "Taken fencing lessons have we, Servant?"

"I have a name" Eloise growled, "It is Eloise! And I am not a _servant_."

She swung the pipe around and the man blocked her attack and made a move on his own.

Since he had a sword, it could cause grievous bodily harm to Eloise, who was only wielding a pipe. All she could do was ultimately give him a painful bruise.

Eloise was confident in her sword practise but it had been quite a while since she had a formidable opponent. "Don't underestimate me" she threatened the man "I'm quite adept at what I know. Being a good swordsman is one."

She blocked and dodged his attacks, at one point, the tip of his sword cutting away a shred of cloth on her dress and fraying the ribbon she had tied around her waist. She twirled her pipe and feigned to the side.

As she expected, the man protected this side, Eloise threw pipe to her left hand and expertly swung it, she heard a satisfying _'thump' _as it connectedwith flesh under his ribcage above his hip and the man grunted.

"Proficient with both your hands I see" he chuckled, his face trying not pinch up in pain.

Eloise cocked her eyebrow as if to say _'I told you so.'_

But being cocky came at a price, the young man doubled back and swung the sword recklessly and as Eloise tried to dodge the attacks, the man swung it and she had no choice but to raise her right arm to protect her face where the sword was aiming.

It sliced into her arm and the blood spurted everywhere.

Eloise stumbled back in shock and the pole fell to the stone floor with a loud clatter. The sword came again at her face and Eloise didn't have the time to dodge.

He could kill her, using the desperate swinging sword technique.

Dirty fighter.

Suddenly, there was another flash of silver and Eloise felt the wind of the blade just graze the skin of her cheek. She gasped, feeling the blood rush to her head, through the haze, she saw Sebastian standing there. A triple silver platter had been her saving grace diverting the blade enough to miss her face. On its way past the plates, the blade had caught a tart that had been on the porcelain.

Damn Sebastian... that _cocky _bastard.

Eloise felt a trickle of blood down her cheek as the blood from her arm splashed onto the stone, ruining her good shoes that Ciel had bought her.

Immediately, her hand came up to staunch the blood.

Sebastian stood there, with a warning glance on his face as the young man inspected the tart that had been the ultimate reason why he hadn't killed Eloise.

"It's a Custard Choux Cream" he explained, "Made from the eggs of our own Phantomhive Territories Poultry."

He smirked "Please" he offered the platter out "Take a bite."

The man did and his companion had helped a dazed and shocked Mey-Rin off her backside and onto her feet.

Dagger had come running over to Eloise and cried out in shock at the blood staining her hand and Sebastian looked to her, his face slightly annoyed.

"She will be fine" he said, "Eloise seemingly had knowledge of swordsman skills and knew that she didn't have time to block."

He stepped forward, "So she used the outside of her arm to compensate and avoided to cut the main artery that ran in on the inside of your arm, we can easily stitch that up and bandage it."

Eloise nodded, gritting her teeth "He's right unfortunately, I've had to do this many times Dagger, I have the scars to show where I have had done it before."

They looked back to the young man who had ate the tart and then continued to say "Hmm" he said, "Its so-so, I guess."

"Inconsiderate asshole" Dagger muttered incredulously "Who the hell is he?"

"Its kinda like the lowest passing mark" he said to Sebastian who only stood there with that fake smile on his face.

Before anybody could speak again, Bard shouted furiously "Hey Sebastian. What the hell _are _these guys? They broke in and hurt Eloise and then...!"

He was cut off by the younger man mumbling in between mouthfuls of Tart "You got anything else?"

Sebastian sighed and looked at the men in disdain "These two are..."

The Butler was interrupted by the inconsiderate young man, "Oh yeah" he sang "We haven't met you guys before."

He gestured down on himself "My name is Charles Grey."

Then the older one spoke, in a more serious face "My name is Charles Phipps."

Dagger was the only one that deadpanned.

"We're codenamed Double Charles," Phipps said and Grey said smugly "We are her Majesty the Queens private Secretarial Officers... and Butlers. Nice to meet you."

Eloise frowned suspiciously as they said the Queen's Butlers. Her mind reeling on where she had heard that before. Sure, they did remind her of somebody else that she knew, but who...?

Grey held up a letter winking at Sebastian, "Little Mistress here didn't sense our timely arrival as she received the Mail. So we had to come in and deliver it ourselves. So today… We are the Messengers delivering a letter to the Earl."

* * *

><p>"That was so rude," Bard said gruffly, gnawing on his cigarette as he stitched Eloise's arm. "Who was he ta come into the Young Master's home and start attackin' us?"<p>

Eloise grimaced at the sharp pain but didn't complain, "It was rather rude" she admitted "He was using the fact that he worked under the Queen that he could boss and hurt us. Sebastian looked like he wanted to pull his throat out."

"You got a got whack in you did" Mey-Rin complimented, wiping what blood she had on her face. "If he didnt fight back the way he did."

"It was a dirty trick" Dagger said folding his arms across his chest "If he was a Noble and followed the rules of a Swordsman, he wouldn't have slashed Eloise's arm in half."

"It was my fault for being careless," Eloise said "It's been a while since I have been in a good fight with another as skilled as I was. But this time, I was ill equipped but I made do with what I had."

"I was the useless one!" Dagger exclaimed helplessly as he handed Bard the bandages "I didn't do anything! I'm supposed to protect you Eloise; I do it because you and Joker were my family!"

"Stop worrying about it" Eloise said as Bard began to wrap the cloth around her stitched gash. "It was nobody's fault that we were attacked. I'm just more annoyed that Sebastian saved my backside again. He just acts so damned _smug _about it each and every time."

She shook her head, long tendrils of hair falling about her face as her long bangs of hair escaped the confines of her bun, "Just wait, I'll get him back. For once, I just want to see the look of shock on that _stupid _face that infuriates me! I would want to be the one to save his sorry ass one day."

* * *

><p>Phipps and Grey sat back on the seats opposite Sebastian and Ciel in the Study.<p>

They stared on a map that lay open on the coffee table and Ciel looked almost bored at the proposition that had befallen him.

"We would like you to entertain a certain German Gentleman that happens to be a distant relative of the Queens. It's a sneak visit to England," Grey explained casually. As he stopped to drink his tea Phipps carried on in his deeper voice "He is interested in the self-proclaimed factory of the world that is England's industry and popular literature...He also wishes to mingle with the persons of profound scholarship."

Ciel sighed and clenched the paper in his hands as Phipps continued to speak and Grey only smirked at them at their misfortune.

"The Funtom Company you manage is one of England's Businesses that is boasted about all over the world. With connections like yours, you should be able to call forth some guests that will please our visitor."

Ciel sighed, placed the paper down on the map and reached for the envelope that Grey had sat upon the coffee table.

"Even so" Ciel sighed "Is it alright that the Queen would let me entertain him? Do you think it's alright to say that?"

Grey smiled into his teacup and said rather slyly "The Queen has been having some doubts about the Earl since that report on the 'Incident' with London's 'Pied Piper.'"

Ciel froze and Grey nodded "We told the Queen that they had all been eliminated, seems like we were mistaken. You had taken two in under your roof, Mr Oscar McKinley and Miss Eloise Ivah? What else are you going to hide?"

"They are none of your concern" Ciel said coldly "They are acquainted with me now and won't be up to any mischief. Eloise and her Companion have revealed to be proficient servants and Eloise has accompanied me on many jobs."

Grey chuckled, "She is quite a Wielder of a Sword Earl Phantomhive. You've gotten yourself a girl of many talents. Most of which... she hasn't informed you."

"I'm aware of that," Ciel said "All in due time, so this mission?"

He averted the conversation about Eloise and Grey leant forward, a gleam in his sky blue eyes. "Don't you think there's a chance to restore your image with this mission?"

He leant back against the lounge, hands going behind his head. His voice became cheerful again "Then again... this is really just a request from the Queen to the 'Noble' Earl and not the 'Watchdog.'

"Noblesse oblige" Phipps said monotonously "We would like you to think of it as an obligation as one of the ones who have it all."

Ciel frowned and Sebastian looked on disapprovingly at the silver haired pair.

"I understand" Ciel said taking the envelope "... I'll take it."

The change in Grey could put mood swings to shame. His face was bright and he asked happily "By the way, since I'm the Overseeing Officer. Its ok if I get you to let me participate as well right."

Ciel was not amused "Yes..."

"Well" Grey said waving his hand as he separated them around his head "We just confirmed the safety of the Mansion. It seems like you don't need an increase in security guards right?"

"The Mansion's protection is flawless" Ciel stated coldly "It can't be helped that our risk factor will increase due to uninvited people."

"It's settled then" Grey said calmly as he and Phipps stood up and readied themselves to leave the study "We'll be taking our leave, you don't need to see us out."

"We look forward to seeing you in two weeks' time." Phipps said as they walked out.

And as quickly as they came the Charles Duo left.

Ciel watched them leave, as the door shut behind the Butlers he sighed and got to his feet. "Well then Sebastian" he sighed "Prepare the invitations at once."

"Yes" Sebastian obliged and Ciel added "And after that contact Lau and Undertaker as well."

"Of course" came the noble reply.

* * *

><p>"The guy was a freaking lunatic!" Eloise raved as she walked down the garden path with Finni, "After he attacked everybody, Sebastian came and saved my skin and then the bastard criticized Sebastian's food! They went to go see Ciel after that. Haven't seen them since."<p>

…

"That was lots of fun huh?" Grey smiled up at Phipps as they strode from the Manor "The Servants are really strong. Especially Miss Ivah, didn't expect to see her or Mr McKinley but Bam! There they were."

"Now that you mention it" Phipps said thoughtfully "Was it okay not to fix the door?"

…

"Great" Eloise grumbled "Its Smart and Ass!"

Both Grey and Phipps stopped in the path as they saw Finni and Eloise on the path blocking their way. They only separated and kept moving, Finni frowned at them suspiciously, only going off what Eloise had just told him.

"But!" Phipps suddenly shouted, making Eloise jump "The side... is still too easy!"

Finni turned over his shoulder with horror shadowing his face as Phipps lunged towards him.

Eloise let a horrified cry escape her as the larger man shadowed her friend, she saw a gleam in Phipps hand and all she could do was cry out "Finni!"

Then a second later, Phipps stepped away from Finni and the Gardener stood there paralysed, Phipps said eloquently "Disorder in your clothes... is disorder in your heart boy."

He tugged on a needle and string, Eloise and Finni looked to the straw garden hat and saw a flower stitched over the hole that had formed in the hat. Finni cried out in shock and Eloise looked like she was about to faint from fright.

"What is that?" Grey said with flat eyes "You always carry that?"

"There was a hole in it" Phipps explained twirling the needle "I'm a top class Butler who can respond in any emergency."

As the two walked away, Finni smiled and he spun around and waved his hands happily "Thank You!" he shouted.

Eloise sighed and slapped her hand over her pounding chest "What did I tell you! Even the big guy is scary."

"I like it" Finni beamed "He fixed my hat."

"Urgh" Eloise groaned, "I feel sick." She stepped away from Finni "I'm going to go see Ciel and find out what the hell is going on here. I can't take any more of this."


	16. A 'Killer' Party

It had been two weeks.

From that day, Ciel Phantomhive would have guests arriving as he holds a Noble Banquet. Eloise, Dagger and the three other servants had to be on their best behaviour. As they were in Noble Company, Eloise was not allowed to treat Ciel as a Friend but as a Servant to her Master.

As of the current moment, Eloise was in the kitchen with Mey-Rin, Bard, Finni, Tanaka and Dagger. She heard the Heavens split and the rain came bucketing down. Eloise sighed as she stared at the window from her seat on the edge of the table.

"The rain came" Finni said miserably and Tanaka only stood there beside him and added a sad "Ho-Ho."

Bard smirked as he leant away from the counter top "Isn't it 'cause the Young Masters doing something unusual?"

"Bard!" Mey-Rin scolded, "That's rude!"

"But it's true!" Eloise smirked "Come on, I've been here a little while now and I've come to know Ciel. He's a clever cookie with dark intentions."

"There's more to him than that," Dagger said, "He's using us for something, especially me and you Ellie. Why else would he keep a couple of Rascal Cirques for?"

Eloise shrugged and there was a miserable groan from Finnian. "I hate the rain."

"The Party won't be cancelled because of rain!" A voice finally barked in "Don't idle, it'll be time to meet the guests soon."

Sebastian clapped his hands and gathered everybody, they all lined up and Sebastian glared at Eloise before she sighed and got off the table and stood next to Bard and Dagger.

"When you are called into the dining hall, come out in order according to your position; try not to mix things up! Please wait in the entrance hall first..." He looked at everybody individually "Understood?"

"Yes!" Finni and Mey-Rin said enthusiastically and Bard picked his ear "Yeah, Yeah" he said in a bored voice.

Dagger nodded his head and Eloise kicked her shoe over the stones making them scuff. "Yeah" she sighed "Whatever."

Sebastian looked a little irked, "Whatever has you in this mood Eloise, please snap out of it. This is the Young Master's Reputation we have on the line here; we have to be on our best behaviour. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes" Eloise glared daggers at Sebastian "I know exactly what Ciel is risking; I'll do anything for him, but give me the orders to work directly with _you_? It's something that I don't like! I'm perfectly happy to be with the others."

"The Young Master had given you orders to directly serve under him and act like a guest undercover. We do not disobey direct orders. Now get ready and come with me to be with the Young Master as he greets his guests."

Eloise grumbled and broke from the line and went to Sebastian's side. She gazed forlornly at Dagger who mock saluted her. If she could have lurched forward and hit somebody, it would have been him at that opportune moment.

Eloise strode from the kitchen with Sebastian following her; they walked up the corridors and to Eloise's bedroom. Sebastian opened the door and Eloise paused in the doorway, "What am I supposed to look out for? What could possibly go wrong at the Earl's Banquet that _he _is throwing? I don't need to go undercover."

"You're just unhappy because you have to be affiliated with me" Sebastian smirked "You do not like the idea of dancing or accompanying me tonight?"

"No" Eloise spat "I don't want anything to do with you. Whatever possessed Ciel to say such a stupid thing?"

She went into the darkness of her room and Sebastian walked in after her and clapped his hands as the flames danced to life in the hanging wall lanterns.

"Show off" Eloise snarled, "Now where is this forsaken dress I have to fit in to? What else can be shamed into wearing?"

The dress was a deep rose pink.

Eloise knew right away that Ciel would have chosen this outfit for her because it was the classic wear of that Victorian Era for an Upper Class Noble Woman.

She saw several different undergarments to wear and a somewhat decent crinoline that was to be adjusted around her waist to make the dress flow out.

The springy steel was designed to flow back; her dress had a train with ribbons decorated down the side.

The dress had a long pink ribbon sat out beside it where it would tie around her waist. The dress was low cut and the gold trimmings followed the line of the cut and down in a triangle and around her waist.

Gold and pink lined the ruffles of the silken gown and the pointed golden shoes had large roses decorated on the front of them.

Numerous amounts of ribbons and jewellery lined the bed and Eloise literally felt her heart drop to her feet and ooze out her soles.

"Why so over the top?" she choked out "What is the matter with the dresses that Lizzie gave me?" she sent a hopeless gaze to Sebastian who pushed her towards the bed, "Lady Elizabeth is younger than you, fashion is different when you are an older Lady of status and nobility. You have to look the part."

Eloise grouched and Sebastian was not taking her nonsense, "If you had gotten ready when I had told you, I wouldn't be breathing down your neck. Now get behind the boards and change your undergarments. You need help getting these corsets and crinoline on!"

"Fine!" Eloise shouted, "I'm going, hold onto your horses Sebastian! I can get ready quickly when I want to."

…

It had taken ten minutes to get the crinoline adjusted and the dress over the top of her corset and lines of spring steel that made up the round foundation of her dress. Overall, it was nice. Not as nice as Eloise had hoped.

Pink wasn't her colour, she despised the colour. Nothing could make her like it. She squeezed her feet into the pointy shoes and Sebastian put on her necklace as she adjusted her bangles and rings around her long silken gloves that went almost all the way up her arm.

Sebastian twirled her hair up expertly; a large bun decorated with crystal roses adorned her head. Her long bangs were twirled around her face and her face was powdered in make-up.

Sebastian had her ready in record time and as soon as she was done, he ushered her down the corridors and down the stairs where the doors had yet to be opened. Sebastian helped Eloise down the stairs and left her in the centre of the entrance hall as he opened the doors.

Eloise saw the carriages and gulped.

This is where it would begin.

…

She hid her face behind a frilly white fan as she admired the crowd.

Her eyes fell on a beautiful blonde with amber eyes accompanied by a brute of a man. A couple of other old men, Ciel's Chinese Accomplice Lau with his Mistress in a very revealing outfit that wasn't suited for the Banquet.

There was also a jittery man dressed in a simple black tuxedo. He aroused Eloise's suspicions as he stood back from the crowd.

Eloise ghosted through the crowd, giving all those who stopped her dazzling smiles as she moved in in her flurry of ribbons and roses.

Then everybody stopped and looked to the top of the stairs where Ciel stood.

Dressed smartly in a white shirt, a grey button up vest and a dark chequered coat that matched his shorts.

Eloise saw the jittery man look towards him and she heard the words "A child...?"

"That tiny little child" Lau smiled to the young brunette man "Is Earl Phantomhive."

"Little was unnecessary," Ciel shouted over the bannister.

Lau chuckled "See he's angry."

Ciel descended the stairs and stopped mid-way; his large sapphire eye fell on his spy in the crowd before smiling to his guests. The regal air around him made the others respect him, the way he composed himself. Ciel Phantomhive was at the top of his game.

"Thank you for accepting my invitation today" he started, his voice echoing out over the crowd, "I am the Head of House, Ciel Phantomhive. After the Dinner Party starts, I'll once again call upon each of you in order to exchange greetings. This includes both my regular clients and the ones that I'm meeting for the first time."

His eyes scanned the crowd and locked eyes with Eloise who shook her head.

Ciel looked to his side where Sebastian was and whispered "But it seems that the Guest of Honour isn't here yet?"

Sebastian could only guess what had happened and offered, "With this foul weather, his arrival seems to have been delayed."

"Oh well" Ciel sighed, he turned back to the crowd "It's not like we can keep everyone waiting in the hall like thi..."

There was a knock at the door and a regal Tanaka went to answer it. Two figures walked in and Mey-Rin said, "There is a guest arriving."

Eloise frowned behind her fan when she caught sight of Charles Grey. She had a severe dislike of that immature young man and the sight of him annoyed her as much as Sebastian did.

He walked in beside a man whose face was etched in age.

He put a hand over his heart in greeting as he locked eyes with Ciel and he said in a gravelly voice "Pleased to meet your acquaintance. I am Georg Von Siemens. I am grateful for your invitation."

Grey waved cheerfully from behind him "Thanks" he said to Ciel "Are the preparations for the party completed?"

He grinned to Eloise when he caught sight of her loitering in the crowd as Mr Von Siemens leant forward and shook Ciel's hand respectively "I'm deeply sorry to have delayed you."

Ciel let a fake smile grace his face, "Of course not" he said "You have come from afar." He began to walk back towards the congregation "Lets exchange greetings once the Party has started. For now, please chat freely at the buffet."

He gestured out with his hand "This way please."

Sebastian stood at the door holding some cards as he addressed the crowd. He smiled his voice dark, "Well then, I'll call out your names so please proceed to the dining room in order. First…"

…

Eloise wandered around the hall; she tied her fan to one of her ribbons and wound her way through the people that were situated around the hall in their greatest attire. She had catalogued every single person in this hall and there's was nothing else she could do.

Her gaze went back out to the window as the wind and rain hammered against the glass. The storm was only going to get more and more dangerous from now on. There could be a chance that they could be trapped at the Manor.

She looked back to the Guests. She had run over them so many times that she knew them by first name.

There was Carl Woodley: President of a Diamond Polishing Business.

Georg Von Siemens: Honorary Director of the Bamberger Bank

Patrick Phelps: Supervision Executive of a Shipbuilding Trade Division

Grimsby Keanes: Theatrical Producer

Irene Diaz: A famous and Beautiful Opera Singer.

Mr Wordsmith: The jittery man that was Novelist.

Other than that, there was Lau and Ran Mao, Eloise, Ciel, Sebastian and the jerk Grey.

Stifling a yawn, Eloise plodded along the hall and debated whether she could leave and sneak down to the kitchens and be with Dagger and the others. She sent a glance to Sebastian and Ciel who were conversed in conversation and saw this as the perfect opportunity to escape.

In a flurry of gold and pink, Eloise crossed the hall. There was a small hum under her breath as the guests went into the night, drinking the heavy alcohol that had been provided on the buffet table.

As she passed Ciel who was seated beside Phelp's and Keane's.

Keane looked incredibly tipsy, Eloise could see the drunken bubbles around his head, a glass with a quarter of Champagne was in his hand, tilting precariously to the side as he spoke to an awkward looking Ciel.

As they continued to talk, Keane lurched forward and began to boast about his business. He began to point out to Ciel and stated proudly "I'd love to work with an understanding entertainer like the Earl just once!"

Ciel shied away from the blonde man's drunken rant there was a desperate yell.

"I told you to please stop it!"

Eloise spun around and saw Irene hiding her upper chest with her arms folded protectively around herself she snapped angrily to Gorg Siemens, "To have you all over me with your disgusting hands…I can't take it _anymore_."

Von Siemens was drunk, incredibly drunk. He stepped back, his eyes unfocused as he tried to stare down Irene "Whaaaat?" he slurred, "You're at fault for wearing those clothes."

"_He's just a dirty old pervert," _Eloise thought in disgust _"I have that all down pact."_

Von Siemens leant close to Irene, his breath running down her neck "You really want to be touched don't you? Don't pretend to be sweet and innocent now."

Eloise saw the visible tick mark appear on Irene's face before she saw her gloved hand rise up. Her eyes narrowed lividly and then she bought it down with force.

There was a sharp sound that resonated around the hall and Irene shrieked "Insolent Jerk!"

Von Siemens stumbled back in shock, his jug of beer sloshing around onto the floor. As he recovered and balanced himself, he growled to the blonde haired woman "Like I'll let you say that to me!"

"Why you…" Irene muttered.

Then Von Siemens flung his glass.

The alcohol in the mug streamed out in a long arc, Irene flung her arms over her head bracing for the impact but it never came.

Instead, there was the splash and a gasp.

Ciel pushed himself up and had gotten in between Vons Siemens and Irene. The alcohol splashed all over Ciel's smart blue suit and he didn't look amused as he pulled back.

"Earl" everybody chorused.

Eloise bit her lip and debated whether she should go over there to help him. She was given directions to stay away from Ciel, but when something like this had happened.

_Where is Sebastian?_

With the Butler nowhere to be seen, Eloise decided to pick up her duty and go over to Ciel.

Straightening up, Eloise fixed her dress and strode across the hall just as a still tipsy Keanes glared lividly at Von Siemens.

"This is a Dining Hall" Ciel scolded "In any case, that will be enough from you two today." He wanted an answer from both of them and Irene nodded. But before the drunken man could give his begrudging answer, Keanes shouted angrily "You old pervert!"

He dashed forward and grabbed a full bottle of champagne from the ice and roared, "Don't touch my woman so…easily!"

He hurled it right towards Von Siemens.

The older man had no choice, he couldn't move. The bottle flew towards him and just as it was about to make impact, a dark figure leapt in the way and the bottle was gone.

There was a loud _'Pop' _and Eloise's stern face fell into a smirk as she shook her head of long brunette curls _"Such a Show-off."_

Sebastian stood on a ladder over an impressive pyramid of wine glasses and was pouring the wine expertly into every glass, It was an impressive sight and it made everybody temporarily forget the hiccup that had previously happened.

Sebastian smiled at the crowd and gestured to the bottle "It's a fantastic wine from the village of Purcari in South Eastern Moldova… Ladies and Gentlemen, please…enjoy it."

"Hah-Hah" Grey cheered as Sebastian stepped down the ladder and away from the pyramid of wine glasses "That smells good! Give me one won't you?"

Eloise sighed; she decided against standing back and ended up walking beside Sebastian as he carried a large, white fluffy towel for a still sodden Ciel. "It was a lucky save," she said trying not to praise Sebastian too much.

"You're pretty good at distractions."

Sebastian smirked "As Phantomhive Servants, what are we if we can't do that?"

"Oh please" Eloise rolled her eyes "Stop that, the amount of times I hear those words from your mouth."

She couldn't help but chuckle and Sebastian smirked at her, "You seem to be enjoying yourself Miss Eloise."

"No" Eloise stifled a yawn "I'm a Performer, I lived in a Circus. I don't do Noble parties! Besides the corset is suffocating me and the shoes are pinching my feet."

Eloise and Sebastian walked past Lady Irene who had put her hand on her chest, she gathered up the courage to speak and her voice came out trembling.

"Um…Tha…"

Sebastian ignored her.

"That was a little rude" Eloise sniffed to the Demon, "Denying a pretty Lady to say her thanks?" They reached Ciel and Sebastian held out the towel and put it around Ciel's shoulders. "Are you okay Young Master?" he asked.

"Yeah" Ciel sighed.

"You might want to go change," Eloise said, her nose twitching "You are going to smell and you'll feel gross and sticky. Can't have my favourite little Earl ruining his reputation." She grinned at him and Ciel shook his head and looked away, "What did I say to you Eloise; I need your cooperation on this. We can't associate…"

"Ciel?" Eloise quirked a brow, "If you wanted me to keep separated, you would have been better off leaving me to myself, or at least be with Bard, Finni and Dagger. Why have me here?" she stepped back and folded her arms "Besides Grey being a jerk and Von Siemens being a dirty old perv, there is nothing to report."

Eloise sent a crude glance to the man that she knew as Wordsmith before looking back to Von Siemens and Ciel began to speak in French.

"_So once that solemn man gets some alcohol into him this is how he becomes. From the looks of it, he's a repeat offender."_

Eloise and Sebastian joined in.

"_Clever speaking in another language" _she smirked _"You're right but, I did some background checks, this guy isn't all he seems cracked out to be. I hope you're not going to use me as a decoy. He's a dirty old pervert."_

Sebastian chuckled, his crimson eyes locking with Ciel and Eloise:

"_Even so, showing how little self-constraint he has… I wonder whether he is an immense fool or whether he knows no shame at all?"_

"_Both" _Eloise snorted, _"By the way, we have an eavesdropper."_

The three looked back to the young man with frazzled brown hair; he jumped back guiltily when he was caught. Eloise sent him an evil glare and Ciel smirked and held a finger to his lips, signalling Wordsmith not to say a word about their conversation.

The man nodded, going all jittery again and Sebastian looked to Eloise, "I had no knowledge of you speaking French Miss Eloise."

"Seriously?" Eloise said, "How many times do I have to say it? I was from the _Circus_. We travelled all around the world. We had to learn different languages; luckily, I'm good at linguistics. I pick things up easily."

"You never cease to amaze me with the things you are hiding" Ciel said "Do you care telling me any more that's relevant?"

"No" Eloise said smugly "Sebastian can figure that out for you. Anyway it's getting…"

The grandfather clock chimed at the stroke of eleven and in the congregation of people, Von Siemens had fallen asleep in his chair snoring quite loudly.

Ciel sighed, "Sebastian, take the Lord to his room, I'll retire too."

Eloise yawned, waving her hand in front of her mouth. "It was a boring night anyway, I'm going to go find Dagger and I'm going to bed."

Ciel got a tick mark, "I'd rather much appreciate it if you didn't allow him to _sleep _with you Eloise. It's unladylike, he has his own bed; I don't want you to get hurt."

"We don't do anything" Eloise smirked "You're too young for that anyway Young _Master; _it just makes us feel better to be together you know."

She stretched out her arms and sent one last gaze to Ciel, "No silly business Ciel. I'll see you in the morning."

…

"I _hate _that dress" Eloise scowled "I'm never going to wear it again. Ciel's fashion sucks! I'll stick with Lizzie's fashion sense."

"I rather liked it," Dagger said as he dragged the gown to the cupboard and put it on a hanger. "It looked nice on you Ellie. But red is better on you."

He gave her a devious smirk, his green eyes glinting.

Eloise stuck out her tongue to her companion and wiggled out from the crinoline and Dagger helped her from the corset.

Once she was in her underclothes, she grabbed her nightgown, went behind the dress wall, and quickly got changed into her bed wear.

Dagger had already fallen into the bed as she emerged, pulling the pins from her hair and dropping them on the dresser as her long hair fell free from its painful confine. It fell about her face and tumbled down her back.

She ran her fingers through it wearily before her eyes caught Dagger's sad gaze as he sat on her bed.

"What's the matter?" she asked, "Is everything alright? Bard didn't scare you again did he?"

Dagger shook his head.

"It's not that" he admitted, "I've been wanting to…to tell you something."

Eloise felt her stomach start to clench as a thousand thoughts bombarded her head. If he said any of those thousand statements, she was…she didn't know what to do.

"Ellie?"

Dagger heaved himself up from the bed and started to walk towards her, his face was drawn and was steadily going a weird shade of red. He scratched the back of his neck as he stood face to face to Eloise and exhaled loudly.

"W-When we were in the Circus" he began awkwardly "I-I know we were friends, but you were so shy and you clung off Joker. I never…got the chance to talk to you properly."

"What are you talking about Dagger?" Eloise questioned, "We _lived _together for several years, you had plenty of chances to talk to me."

"Were you actually together with Joker?" Dagger asked abruptly "Or did you convince yourself that you were with him and he just lead you on?"

"Wha-?" Eloise frowned and went on the defensive "I loved Joker, we were…"

She trailed off and Dagger quirked a brow "By the way I saw it Ellie; he just led you on, like he did with Beast. You two were so hung up on him and he just played you both like a game."

"No" Eloise cried, "You're wrong Dagger! Joker loved me!"

"Did he ever tell you that?" Dagger challenged, "He dragged you around like a little doll Ellie, I didn't know what he was thinking. I didn't want him to hurt you."

"No" Eloise snapped, "You were hung up on Beast, Dagger, what happened between me and Joker was none of your business. Why would you say this to me now?"

"Because Joker isn't here anymore" Dagger said exasperatedly "He stood over you Ellie, he told you what to do all the time and you just followed. But being here, with the Earl Phantomhive, you have become your own person Ellie! And I have come to…"

He stopped abruptly and Eloise stepped back, her eyes brimming with tears "What!" she snapped, "Say it Dagger."

"I've come to love this Eloise!" Dagger said exasperatedly.

An awkward silence fell over them and Dagger walked up to Eloise again, his green eyes searching Eloise's stunned violet. His hand came up and caressed her long tendrils. "I speak the truth Eloise," he said softly.

"_I don't want you to get hurt."_

Ciel's words rung through her head and Eloise knew now why the Earl had been trying to protect her from Dagger.

But Dagger…he was her friend; they only had each other in this cruel, cold world. Everybody else was killed.

"_It's not only Dagger anymore" _she thought furiously _"I have Mey-Rin, Finni, Bard…Ciel and…no" _Eloise shuddered visibly _"Sebastian is NOT my friend."_

As Eloise looked back to Dagger, she could only gasp lightly when his lips crashed down onto hers.

Eloise went stiff, her mind reeling in worry. Tears rolled down her cheeks, tears of betrayal, guilt and most of all…loneliness. Months of loneliness that had eaten away at her consciousness, the nights that she had spent alone, crying herself to sleep.

Dagger pulled away, his mouth still only inches away from her. "Ellie…I don't want you to hate…" but before he could answer. Eloise put her hands behind his head and pushed his lips back against hers. Her fingers tangled in his hands and Daggers arms found their way around her hips and he pulled her closer to him.

He wasn't going to let her go now.

"_Joker, I'm so sorry."_

* * *

><p>Eloise woke with a start when a particular loud thunder crack rumbled the earth. A thrill of fear pulsed through her when a lightning bolt illuminated her room in an eerie display.<p>

She pulled the blankets up around her with a squeak and beside her; Dagger sat up groggily and looked at her through the darkness.

"Ellie?"

"Something's wrong" she whispered, "I have to get up."

Eloise slid from the blankets, she adjusted her knee high gown and dashed for the wardrobe and grabbed a shining silver, silk robe.

Slipping into her flats, Eloise opened the door just as Sebastian and Mey-Rin walked past looking tense.

"Sebastian?" she asked, "What's the matter?"

"Never you mind Miss Eloise," Sebastian said "Just go back to bed." Eloise shook her head, "Something's wrong. Is Ciel alright, is everything fine?"

She followed the Butler and the Maid, Sebastian looked to her as she trotted beside him "It is Master Von Siemens, he has rung his bell."

They walked down the opposite corridor and Sebastian knocked lightly on the bedroom that had been allocated to Von Siemens.

Then from inside, there were the sounds of somebody choking followed by two loud _"Bangs."_

Eloise gasped in horror, her hands flying to her mouth and Mey-Rin and Sebastian pounded on the door. "Master Siemens!"

Down the end of the hall, Eloise turned and saw the rest of the people from the party, Grey leading the pack. "What's up with all the racket?"

Sebastian sent a concerned glance to Eloise before he said, "I'll break down the door."

As the Butler prepared to break down the door, Dagger appeared in his pyjamas and he appeared beside Eloise. He wrapped his arms around her as Sebastian kicked in the door.

The room was dark and everybody looked in. There were cries of shock and Eloise gasped and stumbled back before hiding her face in Dagger's shirt.

He held her protectively and took a step back.

In the centre of the room, in the dark.

Master Georg Von Siemens sit in his chair fully clothed, with two gunshot wounds in his chest.

* * *

><p><strong>Well... Sorry for the delay... I have been a mixture of lazy and busy. I'll try and get updates coming more often.<strong>

**I will let you think what ever you want on what happened with Eloise and Dagger. :P Couldn't help myself.**


	17. Blue Murder

"He's dead!"

Eloise had a death grip on Dagger's shirt and refused to let him go.

_'What the hell happened!'_

Mr Wordsmith pushed past the crowd, went into the room, and inspected the body of Siemens. Outside, the storm raged on, with no intention of letting up anytime soon.

"What was that scream just... Whoa!" Bard and Finni burst into the room. The young Gardener stood behind Phelps, his large blue eyes wide in shock "I-Is this person dead?" he asked horrified.

"Yes" Phelps said examining the body "Most likely the blood loss from the wound on his chest was fatal. I can't be certain because it's dark but..."

"Hey" Bard said from beside Dagger and Eloise, "Isn't it kinda hot in this room?"

"It is" Sebastian agreed he looked to the fireplace "I heated the room before-hand but...maybe he was cold."

"What's all the racket?" a tired voice came out.

"Young Master" Sebastian said stepping aside, "Ciel" Eloise whispered from the fabric of Dagger's shirt. "What do we do?"

Keane's looked around worriedly "Anyway, we shouldn't move anything until the Yard arrives." He went to speak more but Bard cut him off seriously.

"No, it'd be better if we move the body now. I can't say it any nicer than this...Meat rots faster than you might think."

The Cook gazed at the body, a steely gaze in his eyes "Even if we turn off the fire now. Time will be up before you know it if he stays next to the hearth."

"Rot-you say" a faint voice came out. Irene collapsed against Grimsby Keanes and Phelps said rather bluntly "It's like he says, I also think it'd be better if we laid him in a cool, dark place until an expert can take a look at him."

Finni nodded and ran towards the door, "Well then, let's move him to the cellar until the Yard gets here."

"Finni" Sebastian demanded, "Bring a stretcher."

"I think the Yard won't be getting here for a while," Lau stated. The Chinese man and Ran Mao stood next to the window. Lau lifted the curtain and the rain bucketed down, he was completely right.

"Does that mean we can't leave either?" Carl Woodley asked, looking somewhat scared.

"Why do you ask that now?" Lau said, before he shrugged and smiled "It's fine right, everyone was meant to stay over anyway."

"Like you can call this fine! I'm not staying at a place where a murder took..."

"Indeed" Lau said darkly "We surely are on the shores of a deserted island right now. It also means that that there is a good chance that the killer...is still inside the Mansion."

Everybody froze, except Eloise who gasped and started to shake in Dagger's arms. "A Killer _inside _the Mansion?" she looked to Sebastian "This is where we _live_. What do we do?"

"Now that you mention it," Grey said searching the room full of people, "If you think about it logically, wouldn't the killer be one of us then?"

"Why us? This isn't a joke!" Keanes shouted, "That's right," Woodley agreed.

"Well first of all, we only just met each other..."

There was a gasp from Irene Diaz, as everybody looked to her she said, "When we first arrived the door was locked right?"

"Now that you mention it..." Mey-Rin said, "Yeah it was."

"So wouldn't it be likely that someone broke in through the window, locked the door to leave time for an escape and then went back out of the window again." Irene stated looking at everybody individually.

Grey shook his head and went to the large window and rattled it, "But if you came in through this kind of rain...wouldn't you leave footprints?" he gestured to the floor "Not to mention that this room is on the second floor... annnd the windows are locked."

He grinned and Keanes put his fingers on his chin as he thought "So someone locked it from the hallway and escaped that was after all...That is...unlikely."

Now it was Sebastian's turn to point out another thing, he fished around his pocket and pulled out a small golden key. "The keys for this Mansion all go with the original ward locks from when this Mansion was first built."

He twirled the key around "They are complex pieces so it is unlikely that someone other than a Craftsman could make an imitation. Furthermore, these keys have all been locked away in a safe." He put the key back in his pocket and finished his sentence "The only copy of the Key that opens the Safe is in possession of the Butler. Me. Therefore, the Keys stored there can't be taken."

"There's a latch on the door also" Eloise said softly "It's another way to be locked inside." Sebastian nodded "You're right, in other words..."

"This is a locked room murder" Lau implied.

"Preposterous" Woodley snapped, "We're not in a novel."

"Indeed" came the tired response "If anyone published this kind of crude locked room drama, they'd surely get complaints."

Ciel looked lazily to Mr Phelps "Wouldn't you agree Mr Wordsmith?"

"Yes" Wordsmith nodded "That's right, surely if you used those..."

"What's that?" Lau asked, "A Needle and Thread" Ciel said simply.

"That's right," Dagger said with wide eyes, "It's possible, I used to do it all the time." He held up his finger "You get the Needle and Thread through the crack in the door somewhere to hold the latch in place; you pull the thread down under the door and go outside the room. You pull the thread without breaking it and get the needle out."

He scratched his head with a sheepish smile, "Don't ask how I know. It was a quick way out of things."

"Mr McKinley is right," Ciel said waving his hand "In Mystery Novels, it's the oldest trick in the book. Not to mention plain and boring. But our Criminal isn't here to write a book. It's like he's trying to create a smokescreen or something."

"That sure does explain the locked door murder but..." Lau started "It also means that anyone could be the killer." Wordsmith finished.

"It definitely wasn't us," Keanes shouted, defending himself and Irene.

"It was me either," Woodley shouted.

He looked to the blonde haired duo. "A-Amongst all of us, aren't you the most suspicious? You had a fight with the Lord at the Buffet didn't you?"

"Don't you make accusations old man" Keanes shouted "Like I'd kill someone over that? Overall you're the one that's..."

"Now, Now you two" Lau chuckled shrugging "Lets calm down and hear everybody's alibi's shall we?" he handed the reins over to Ciel, again the Earl yawned and looked at everybody bemused. "Lord Siemens was killed after he had retired to his room, to be precise it was the time that the Lord rung the servants bell and the time that the Butler and Co arrived at his room."

Ciel folded his arms and closed his eye "If you have an alibi to cover that time, you're safe."

"Me and Irene were in the Billiards room" Keanes offered. Irene nodded "Yes."

"I was in there too!" Grey announced.

"So were me and Mr Phelps" Mr Wordsmith said from the passed out body of Phelps. "For the whole time, from the moment that Lord Siemens went to bed up until the disturbance, we were all in there. During that time, no one left their place either."

Ciel unfolded his arms and looked to Lau "What were you guys doing?" he asked somewhat coldly. Lau only waved him off smiling "We were drinking in the Lounge with Mr Woodley, weren't we Ran Mao?"

"Right" Woodley agreed, "We were together the entire time before the commotion started, if I remember correctly after Midnight, the alcohol ran out and we had the Butler fetch us some more right?"

"Yes" Sebastian nodded his head "I brought it to you at around 12:10."

When the gaze fell upon Finni, Mey-Rin and Bard, the Maid raised her hands and stuttered, "U-Us servants were all cleaning up together."

When Ciel's eye went over to Eloise and Dagger, the Ex Marksman clutched Eloise, "It wasn't us, we were together in bed, and neither of us left until Eloise got up and followed Sebastian!"

Sebastian quirked a brow and Eloise went red and made a cutthroat gesture to him, _"We didn't do anything!" _she mouthed a scowl on her face.

Keanes looked uncomfortable; he tried to redeem all the guests. "First and foremost, none of us knew what room Siemens was staying in?" he gained the approval of the guests, "To find him in such a large Mansion would take quite some time right?"

"Which means that…" Grey muttered. All the gazes flew right to Ciel and the Earl looked shocked to be accused of a murder.

"Excuse me for asking Earl" Lau stated calmly "What were you doing at that time?"

Ciel paused, a frown decorating his face. Everybody in the room started to get hostile and tense and Eloise pushed away from Dagger and said indignantly "He was retiring to bed and was walking with me! I left him in the hall outside my bedroom and…"

Her futile attempt at trying to redeem her Master failed as Ciel sighed. "Eloise enough." He closed his eye and said to Lau "Certainly I'm the only one who hasn't got an alibi, but I don't have any reason to kill the Lord."

"Oooh? Is that so?" Grey smirked from beside the window, "What?" Ciel snapped.

"Hey!" Eloise shouted "Don't you go accusing Ciel of murdering somebody in his own home!" she walked away from Dagger and pointed an accusing finger to Grey "You don't know him half as well as I do."

"But look at it this way Eloise" Lau smirked "You wouldn't say there was no reason at all now would you? Most of the reasons for someone to kill another are reasonable inconceivable to other people."

"I know how it goes" Eloise snapped "Don't quote murder to me. I know psycology well, but when you _personally _know the person. Its…just…" Eloise hated to admit that Lau was right; she shook her head "Ciel wouldn't kill a person he had to entertain!"

Lau smirked at the Ex Cirque as she stepped back into the lines of the servants as he looked back to Ciel "Besides, your company has a branch in Germany does it not? There could have been some memo's outside of the official books with a major Bank Executive from Germany like him… That's" Lau gestured to himself and said casually "Something we don't know anything about though."

Ciel looked irked at the last statement "You're suggesting that my Funtom Company has some kind of horrible debt? That's absurd."

"Its not impossible though" Lau pressed "No matter how big a company is, there are times when they can simply vanish overnight."

"Wait!" a desperate voice interrupted Lau and Ciel.

Finni clenched his hands and his eyes were glassy "Wait a minute! I don't get all the complicated stuff but… Young Master would never!"

"Finni" Ciel said, sending a glare to all his servants and companions at the back of the room "Enough, all of you. Just back off."

Eloise clenched her fists before looking to her friend, "Nothing is wrong Finni, Ciel is innocent. We all know that, People are trying to make him look like he done it."

"I'd like some insurance" Grey retorted from the window, where it was still pouring down rain.

_Insurance?_

"Insurance that we'll get out alive."

"What do you mean by that? Irene said shakily to the Butler clad in white and Grey continued, "Well the Mansion is currently under the control of a killer you know? And we can't get out until this storm settles down."

A lightning flash illuminated the dimly lit room and Grey's face was obscured by a shadow "What if we were all gagged before the storm settles?"

That sent a shiver through the entire crowd and Eloise got the heebie jeebies and clung to the closest person, who happened to be Finni.

"Well then" Lau said simply "Let's confine him?"

"Confinement?" Eloise squawked, "That's unfair!"

"Confine the Young Master?" Bard shouted.

"But he's scary" Lau said in mock fright.

"Sebastian do something" Eloise hissed to the Butler standing behind the Servants. "We have to stop them locking Ciel up! It's his house!"

Both Eloise and Sebastian looked to Ciel who almost looked bored "If that makes you feel better, go ahead."

"If we're going to confine him it can't be in his bedroom" Grey stated "Noble's rooms generally have some kind of secret escape route built in. My place has them too."

"We'll keep an eye on him while attending to his…" Sebastian tried to offer, but again Lau broke in "That won't do. Seeing as you might help the Earl escape right?"

Eloise and Dagger were glared at as well and Eloise barked "You are starting to annoy me. I don't trust you! You could be the one slinking around here and killed the Executive. Slimy, disgusting…."

"Oh now, now" Lau laughed at Eloise's anger "There's no need to get personal. I have a valid alibi and you know that. There is a reason why we cant…trust you."

He put his hand to his mouth but Eloise was the only one to see the hand signal. A finger to his lips, he opened one eye and shook his head and Eloise clamped her mouth shut.

"So in other words" Grey said holding out his hand "It'd be best if one of the Guests would stay with him and keep watch."

"No thankyou" Keanes stated coldly hugging his blonde haired woman to him "Like I'd leave Irene by herself."

"I just can't" Woodley put in for himself and Grey snapped back "Well I don't want to either but somebody has to do it."

"Well it looks like it's up to you Mr Wordsmith!" Lau patted the jittery man on the shoulder "Please watch him carefully so that he doesn't escape."

Grey looked to Bard, "I have something good stored in my horse carriage. Would you get it for me?"

Bard looked irritated at Grey, the dislike showing clearly on his face.

"It looks like this where we split up" Ciel said gazing at Sebastian and Eloise "Be careful you two." Eloise nodded and Sebastian put his hand over his heart.

"Escort everybody to their rooms" Ciel said and Sebastian nodded "Certainly."

The Butler walked to the door and gestured his arm out "Well then everyone, let me guide you. This way please…"

As Sebastian and the crowd left the bedroom, Ciel caught Eloise's hand and held her back. She didn't look back at him, he muttered to her. "I have been sneezing a lot lately, that means cats. I have an allergy to them. It's too bad that they sneak around the manor and watch all our moves. I can't seem get rid of them."

Then he let go of her hand and Eloise walked from the room and down the corridor.

'_Clever way in telling me to watch out for suspicious behaviour.'_

…

The Cat cowered against the windowsill as the lightning illuminated the room. Her large purple eyes narrowed as she watched Sebastian ready Ciel for bed with the Wordsmith. Her eyes followed the long chain that bound them together and felt her chest convulse in disgust.

'_Is this what will get people assured? To lock up an innocent child?'_

With a meow, The Cat jumped from the window, back out into the pouring rain, ducked under the cover of a shrub and licked her paw. She heard a rustle in the bushes some distance away and the Cat perked her ears, poked her head from the shrub and saw a shadow walking away.

Her ears flattened and she braced herself to go back to the Mansion, _'I have to tell Sebastian.'_

Running back to the cover of the Mansion, the Cat needed to report her sightings around the Mansion.

With a low irritable growl, the Cat ran back into the rain and around the massive estate to find the small door that allowed her to move about freely in and out of the Kitchen.

She began to shiver as her midnight fur soaked with the freezing water began to cling at her. She followed her keen nose and hearing as she reached the small hole that led into the kitchen.

Jumping into the darkness, the Cat shook herself. It didn't help the fact that she was still soaking wet and shivering. She shook her paws irritably before looking up and saw a fluffy white towel on the table.

'_Damn Sebastian' _she thought _'So annoying, yet…so useful and thoughtful.'_

The Cat transformed, going from a small lithe figure and growing to a tall slender woman.

She grabbed the towel and began to dry herself hurriedly before putting back on her nightgown and robe.

Using the towel to dry her wet hair, Eloise didn't have time to brush it down neatly before she took off out of the kitchen to find the Butler.

"_Have to find Sebastian" _she whispered to herself.

Her eyes darted around wildly through the corridors, she had to be careful. She couldn't be reckless in a dire situation like this. She looked through the entire Mansion but didn't find the person she wanted to.

Frowning, Eloise gave up.

She dropped her hand and she heard a rustle in her pocket. Suspiciously, Eloise pulled a piece of paper out of her robe pocket and scanned it.

Her eyes had a green sheen to it as she flicked over to her cat eyes. She saw a line written in elegant script, handwriting that she recognised as Sebastian's.

'_Keep an eye on the Young Master... Accompany Tanaka in the morning.'- Sebastian._

"What is going on here?" Eloise whispered, her hands trembling. "What have you done Sebastian?"

She scrunched the note in her hand and thrust it back into her pocket.

"I need to get back outside."

In a flurry of silver and white, Eloise ran down the hall and back into the kitchen. Her clothes fell back into a heap and there was a hiss as the Cat disappeared back into the rain outside, unaware of the eyes that had watched her go.

…

The rain had not settled when morning came.

The Cat sat on the highest branch overlooking the Mansion.

Her inner body clock told her that it was dawn, even in the dense cloud cover. From the top window of the Mansion, a white Owl flew into the surrounding forests.

"_I better get back in the Mansion."_

The Cat jumped down the trunk of the massive tree and disappeared around the corner of the Mansion.

…

Eloise was fretting too much to feel tired.

She brushed down the hall silently and snuck into her bedroom where she saw Dagger sprawled out on her bed snoring.

Closing the door softly, Eloise crept to her wardrobe and pulled out her choice of clothes. She was able to get changed without rousing Dagger and was able to leave just as quietly. This early, Eloise was able to see if she could find Sebastian in the Kitchen preparing Ciel's breakfast.

Going back to the Kitchen once again, Eloise rapped on the door and went in. But instead of seeing Sebastian, she saw Bard.

"Huh?" she implied, "Bard? W-Where is Sebastian? I need to find him."

"I dun know" Bard said turning around and scratching his head "He came into my room last night and gave me a piece of paper with all recipes on it. Funny thing is…he called me 'Chef.' I aint no Chef, I'm a Cook!"

Eloise bit her lip, "Where did he go? It's crucial that I speak to him!"

"I'm sorry Eloise" Bard said turning back to the Bench, "I haven't seen him since early this morning."

"I have to go" Eloise blurted "I-I have to find Tanaka."

She left the Kitchen and ran down the Corridor, her eyes searching in every corridor and room. _"I have to be careful, there is still a killer around here! I've seen him with my own eyes. If it hadn't been so dark…and the rain."_

She heard the chimes of the clocks around her and Eloise stopped running as she heard the muffled footsteps coming up the hall.

She tried to keep her breathing under control as she saw Tanaka come up in his normal form.

_Something's wrong!_

"Tanaka, Sebastian told me to be here. Do you know something? Where is he?"

Tanaka shook his head, "I'm sorry Miss Eloise, I do not know where he has gone." Tanaka knocked on the door, "Please excuse me."

As Tanaka opened the door, Eloise strode beside him. Ciel looked up horrified from the bed "Tanaka? Where is Sebastian?"

_Ciel doesn't know either!_

Suddenly there was a loud scream and Eloise's eyes widened.

_No_

Tanaka let Ciel go and immediately the Earl and the Ex Cirque ran down the hall where they saw the rest of the household gathering outside one of the bedrooms.

"Move" Eloise demanded, "Everyone move aside."

There was a loud gasp and Eloise went to scream before two arms pulled her back and she saw Dagger looking grim. "Ellie."

"NO!"

In front of her, Sebastian lie on the floor in a pool of spattered blood. A steel fire poker plunged through his chest.

* * *

><p>Eloise screamed, the tears springing to her eyes.<p>

"Let go of me!" she shouted to Dagger, she struggled against his arms and growled "Let go OF ME DAGGER!"

She smacked Daggers arms as Ciel rushed forward, Mey-Rin lurched forward crying out "You can't! Young Master, you shouldn't go closer!"

Eloise's eyes overflowed with tears and they rolled down her cheeks, "How selfish!" she cried to Dagger "He wasn't supposed to die! We had business to finish, it was me and him…_he went and died on me_."

Ciel strode forward, breaking away from Mey-Rin and Finni shouted "You can't Young Master!"

"STAND BACK" Ciel shouted frantically, swinging his hand out "Don't order your Master around!"

"Young Master!" Finni and Mey-Rin cried falling back as Ciel went to the motionless body of Sebastian. His bare foot squelched in the blood that surrounded Sebastian and his voice was trembling "Sebastian?...S-Stop fooling around…"

Eloise wrestled against the iron grip of Dagger once more, but he wasn't going to let her go.

"Sleeping on the floor doesn't look all that comfortable to me," Ciel muttered, his voice started to rise in octaves.

"Exactly how long are you planning on pretending to be asleep?"

There was no sound from Sebastian.

"_Please let this be a joke" _Eloise thought frantically _"He'll get up when Ciel tells him too. He can't be dead. We had a score to settle…Demon's can't die __**this **__easily."_

Ciel slammed his foot down on Sebastian's chest, his face void of emotion. "Don't you hear me Sebastian? I said…**Get up**!"

When the Earl still didn't receive an answer from the Butler, he ground his teeth together. His arm rose and with an angry cry, his fingers wrapped around the handle and he ripped the poker from Sebastian's chest in a spray of blood.

"Earl!" Mr Wordsmith shouted in horror.

"Ciel!" Eloise cried, "Ciel don't!"

Ciel threw the poker aside, dropped onto Sebastian's body, grasping his shirt in his hands, and began to shake the body desperately.

"Sebastian! Wake up this instant…That's an order!"

His eye narrowed and his pale face lost the remainder of its colour and his voice rose to a shout. "Didn't you hear my order?" Ciel rose his hand again and with force that a child his age could muster, he slapped Sebastian's white face. Again and again, he continued to hit Sebastian mercilessly.

"Who said you could just die?" he shouted furiously in between hits, "I won't allow this Sebastian…Open your…."

"Bard!" Eloise cried to the Cook, "Bard please stop him, I don't want him like this." Eloise was still stuck in the iron grip of Dagger.

Bard was quick to move, he strode across the room and bent down to Ciel's level and grabbed his hand.

"Young Master" he muttered, "Give it a rest will you? He's already…dead."

Eloise let another sob escape her and she buried her wet face in Dagger's bed shirt, and Ciel's shaky voice came out, "Y-You're kidding right?"

Ciel looked back down to the frozen face of Sebastian as Bard let him go. This time, instead of slapping the cold face, The Earl pushed aside loose strands of Sebastian's ebony hair. "Y-You" he stammered, "My Butler, you, only you…"

Ciel bent down and put his face against Sebastian's "You were supposed to be by my side until the end."

From beside Grey, Bard chewed on his cigarette, trying to hide the fact that his lip was quivering. "If we leave him here, he'll rot. It'd be better if we moved him quickly."

Mey-Rin broke away from Finni and went down beside Ciel and tried to pry him off the body of his Butler, "Young Master" she muttered.

"NO! _Let go_." Ciel shouted savagely, fighting against Mey-Rin "Don't you dare leave me behind Sebastian…_Sebastian_."

He clawed at the wound on Sebastian's chest, "It's an order" he shouted "An _order_."

"_Ciel!"  
><em>The voice rung out, a shrill cry that stopped everybody in their tracks, including the Earl. _"Do you think Sebastian would want you doing this?"_

With a brutal push, Eloise broke away from Dagger and stalked across the room towards Sebastian, Ciel and Mey-Rin.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, her violet eyes livid with grief and anger. She strode barefoot over the bloodstained carpet and lifted her hand.

With a spurt of energy, Eloise lifted Ciel right off the body and stood him up, staring down in his face. _"You are Earl Phantomhive" _she said in a now deathly whisper, _"Get a hold of yourself! Or I swear to the Lord that I will smack you!"_

Silence fell over the room and Eloise want the only one that noticed that Ciel's eyes were still dry.

He hadn't even shed a tear over Sebastian's death.


	18. Suspicion

Eloise stood outside the door as everybody was discussing Sebastian's death. She seemed like a ghost, standing in the shadows without a sound.

From inside the room, the man designed Mr Wordsmith was discussing possible ways on how Sebastian had been killed. She heard the smooth talking Lau pipe in, his voice sounding almost smug.

"_Well no matter how, its certain that this killer didn't feel and mercy or hesitation. To have killed even that Butler, this culprit must be extremely-..."_

"_**Stop it already**."_

Eloise looked up and gazed at the wall in front of her as Finni's voice came out sounding frustrated and borderline hysterical.

"_**Why are you having this conversation in front of the Young Master? Please think of his feelings."**_

"_Finni!"_

Both Dagger's and Mey-Rin's voice broke out and Mey-Rin cried, "P-Please excuse him."

…

Eloise walked away from the door as the congregation started to talk about food; a shadow fell across her face as her chest tightened in sadness.

Sure, she and Sebastian had a mutual relationship, mainly based on them teasing and hounding each other. As much as she said she hated Sebastian, she didn't really; he was just _frustrating_.

Now he was gone, killed mercilessly.

…

She stood outside the Dining Hall, to show everybody that she was still around and that she was up to no mischief. She couldn't afford to have more suspicion heaped upon her, she was going to take it upon herself to find this killer, the one that had killed her 'almost' friend.

She wasn't going to let anybody else die whilst in the Phantomhive Manor.

As everybody sat down, Eloise came in and watched the concession with guarded eyes, trying to pick out any suspicious activity.

Tears threatened to fall again and she fell back against the wall with a silent 'thwump.' Her stomach began to churn uncomfortably as she received glances from all over the room.

Suddenly, Grey pointed his fork to Irene as she remarked that she wasn't hungry.

"Hey since there's some left, is it ok if I have it?"

Typical jerk.

Irene nodded and began to pick up her plate to hand it to Grey, "Yes" she muttered "Feel free to..."

"Not that" Grey scoffed, waving his hand dismissively "I didn't mean yours, the one next to you." Everybody looked to the empty chair besides Irene and the actress looked surprised "Oh my... Indeed there's one too many."

She looked up to Eloise loitering around the door, "This isn't your breakfast is it?" she asked. Eloise shook her head, so Irene looked back to Ciel, "Perhaps the Chef got the numbers wrong?"

Ciel shook his head as well, in a flat voice he said to Irene "The one who prepared breakfast was Sebastian. He wouldn't mix up the numbers."

"Who's is it then?" Grey asked, they all stared at the empty chair before there was a jolt of realisation, "Mr Phelp's isn't here is he?" Grey smiled to everybody, "Since he's always so inconspicuous I didn't notice. Now that you mention it... I haven't seen him all morning."

"Looks like he overslept a little too much" came the joke.

Eloise felt a tingle of dread come over her, she left the room in a flurry of pale fabrics as Mr Wordsmith and Ciel got up.

"I'll show you to my room" Ciel offered.

They walked out into the hallway, leaving everybody in the dining hall.

Ciel saw Eloise walking down the hall before he called out to her, "Eloise, where are you going?" She stopped and allowed them to catch up to her.

Only then, did Ciel see the tears rolling down her face, "I swore to myself that nobody was going to get hurt in this Manor, I'm such a failure. I let everybody be killed, _I let Sebastian walk into a trap and I didn't get to see him."_

"Enough with the tears" Ciel said harshly, "Concentrate on saving your own life Eloise. Stop being such a baby and toughen up."

Eloise's eyes popped wide at the brutal remark, Ciel strode past her with Mr Wordsmith in tow. Reluctantly, she followed them and walked down the familiar corridors that led to Ciel's bedroom. She knew that everybody was following them, and she knew the worst was about to befall them...again.

They raced to across the hall and Mr Wordsmith broke into a run as Ciel's bedroom door came into view. He reached the door and began to hammer his fists against it, calling out desperately "Mr Phelps, if you are in there please answer me."

He got no response and he tried the handle only to find it locked into place.

"It's locked" he gasped to Ciel and Eloise. "Earl, where's the key?"

"I don't know" Ciel said helplessly, "Sebastian took care of the key in my bedroom, only he knew where it was. Since he's dead, even I don't know where it's kept."

The crowd followed up behind them and Finni broke past Eloise and Ciel, "Please get back" he said in a serious voice, "I'll..."

"**Get out of the way!"**

Finni and Ciel jumped away as Grey strode forward, a fork hanging from the side of his mouth and holding a half-eaten plate of food in his hand.

In the other, he held his sword and with ease, he sliced open the door.

The wood crumbled away and Eloise spat to Grey, "You ruined it you moron, I hope you are aware that will come out of your pay check! What gives you the right to go around and ruin other people's property?"

Through the debris, Ciel and Mr Wordsmith went into the bedroom and Eloise took the opportunity to sneak in behind them and see what had gone on.

With shock, he saw the body of Phelps near the door, his hands clenched into fists around the mat.

White froth had gathered at his mouth and his body was rigid.

"Mr Phelps?"

Mr Wordsmith ran forward and fell in front of the body, "Rigor Mortis has already set in, he's been dead for quite a while. He doesn't have any external injuries like the other two though."

Mr Wordsmith suddenly stopped, his eyes going wide, he bent down and brushed aside Phelp's hair and looked on his neck.

"There's a wound on his neck like he has been stabbed with something" he remarked, "It might be from a needle like object that was used to inject poison..."

"Needle?" Eloise questioned as Ciel shouted at Lau and Ran-Mao from going through his closet.

She bent down beside Mr Wordsmith, fixing up a strand of her hair that had fallen from its tie, "There's two, it looks like a bite mark."

"A bite mark?" Irene interrupted timidly "It sounds just like Carmilla."

Mr Wordsmith looked up to her as Eloise studied the marks, "By Carmilla, you mean _Le Fanu's "The Vampire Carmilla?"_

"There's no such thing as Vampires" Ciel scoffed, "What nonsense are you sprouting now?"

Everybody began to argue before Mr Wordsmith piped up from the other side of the room.

"Two-Thirty Eight."

"Huh?"

Eloise looked up from the body, "How did you get over there so fast? _And why is everything broken?"_

Wordsmith picked up a broken clock from the shattered remains of the lamp besides Ciel's bed, "I guess it probably fell down when he was writing in pain...it's broken."

"In other words, Mr Phelp's died around two thirty eight?" Ciel confirmed.

"Yes."

Eloise got up to her feet, a frown decorating her face. She felt almost nostalgic in a creepy way. _It seemed so familiar to her._ Ciel noticed her dark look but before anything was said, Lau waved his hand with a smile on his face, "Rather than discussing this while stnading here, why dont we sort out the situation while sitting down. We'll drink some tea."

"Indeed" Ciel sighed, "Tanaka, please escort everyone to the drawing room."

As everybody left, Mr Wordsmith reluctantly left Ciel in the room with Eloise.

"What am I going to do?" Eloise hissed to the Earl, "They will go over alibi's, I can't exactly say that I was outside in the pouring rain watching for intruders. I will be the one suspected; I don't want to be accused of killing anybody."

"It'll be fine," Ciel said "Don't worry too much Eloise; by the way... did you happen to come across anybody last night?"

"I did" Eloise stated, "But the rain obscured my view, I lost track of them but there is somebody out there. If I go out there again, I might have a better chance at trying to see who it is."

"Never mind that" Ciel said darkly, "Eloise, stay inside tonight, This is getting dangerous, we do not know who killed Mr Phelps, I do not want you dying as well."

Eloise was about to question Ciel on why he only stated Phelp's death, but Ciel ceased the conversation and walked from the room.

* * *

><p>"First of all, Lord Siemens, his death was around ten past one this morning. The only one who doesn't have an alibi is Earl Phantomhive."<p>

Earl Grey spat crumbs all over everybody as he spoke, earning a disgusted look from Eloise.

"Next is the Butler... his time of death is unknown. Finally Mr Phelp's, his death was thirty eight minutes past two this morning...am I correct?"

"The Butler's corpse was found first" Mr Wordsmith broke in "But we don't know who was killed first. It had been a few hours obviously between them being killed and us finding them. Me and the Earl Phantomhive were chained to the bed till morning have a valid alibi."

"You talk too much" Grey leant over and stated to Wordsmith.

"We were chained to the bed at two 'o' clock" Ciel said, "Sebastian had said that he had already escorted Mr Phelp's to his room and Mr Phelp's was killed at two thirty eight."

"Who saw the Butler last?" Lau stated then, sending everybody in the room an individual glance, sending one exceptionally long one to Eloise.

"That would probably be us" Wordsmith said, "But the clock was far away and I couldn't tell what the time was at that time."

"No!"

Finni raised his hand and stated rather loudly, "We saw Mr Sebastian in the middle of the night." Mey-Rin and Bard agreed. "I'm certain it was around Two-Fifty" Finni added.

"So Sebastian was killed last," Dagger finally said in his secluded corner of the room, "What was he doing?" Eloise asked.

"He came to me to confirm the food stock," Bard said before pointing to Finni, "He gave this guy instructions on cleaning the hearths."

"He asked me to...take care of a delivery...owl?" Mey-Rin added hesitantly.

"What were you doing?" Grey looked to Dagger.

Dagger looked lividly back at the Butler, "I was asleep" he retorted, "What else would I have been doing?"

Grey smirked and looked back to Eloise, "and you?"

Eloise hadn't come up with any decent explanations and she went to stammer before Dagger cut her off, "She came back with me, why would you ask us individual questions when it was obvious we were together?"

"Why are you so defensive?" Lau smirked to Dagger, "Wouldn't you and Missy over there have the best reason to kill Sebastian? Didn't he and Earl Phantomhive annihilate the Circus people?"

"That is none of your business" Eloise suddenly shouted at Lau, "Shut up! Don't you dare go accusing Dagger or I of killing Sebastian. We have long past the grudge of what happened in the past."

"So defensive" Lau chuckled, "I think we have our culprit's right here."

Eloise clenched her fists, "Come right here and say it to my face," she challenged, before she could shout further, Ciel stepped in and held out his hands.

"Enough!" he shouted, "Lau! Eloise and Mr McKinley have no business with my clients, they do not know eachother. We should focus on finding the _killer."_

Mr Wordsmith stood up and seemingly came to Eloise and Daggers defence, "The only one who could have killed Lord Siemens at ten-past-one was Earl Phantomhive. The only one who could have killed Mr Phelp's at two-thirty-eight was Sebastian."

He sent a quick gaze to Eloise before looking back to the majority "And anyone but me or the Earl could have killed Sebastian at ten-to-three. So even if they worked with Sebastian, its impossible that a single person could have cause this string of murders."

At this remark, Mr Woodley and Mr Grimsby began to shout at eachother, Eloise cowered back as Woodley gazed at her moreorless and shouted "I've had enough!" he slammed his hands down on the table, rattling the china.

Ciel sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest almost defiantly, "Where are you going?" he asked calmly "Under these circumstances, I'd like you to refrain from acting on your own."

Woodley took his gaze off Eloise and he stared in hate at Ciel and thrust an accusing finger in his direction, "Youre saying that to me?" he said incredulously, "You're the one that's…" he stepped closer to Ciel and he spat on the Earl "It was really you who planned this all along wasn't it?"

Ciel smirked at him at the accusation "I'm not sure what you're trying to say, but please…calm down."

"_Hes toying with him" _Eloise thought incredulously as Woodley continued to rant and shout at Ciel. _"He's acting like nothing has happened at all… Is this…all a game to him?"_

Eloise was whipped back into the living when there was a sudden shatter of glass as Woodley hurled the china at Mr Wordsmith.

She raced forward as Woodley went to go grab Ciel with his fingers curled and his face livid in anger, "Ciel!" Eloise cried, ready to pounce on the attacker. But Tanaka beat her to it. The elderly butler neatly pinned Woodley's arm behind his back and threw him to the ground in a neat and swift movement.

"Wow" Eloise gaped, "Tanaka…you really have it in you."

She looked back to Ciel and back to the Servants with Dagger among their ranks with a dangerous look in their eye.

"Excuse me Master Woodley" Tanaka began politely, pinning the man to the floor, "If someone means any harm against the Young Master in this Mansion… no matter who they are…" his eyes became steely as he regarded all the servants, including Eloise and Dagger. "These servants…will not have mercy on them."

Then he smiled nicely, "Please understand."

Eloise looked back to Dagger and saw him sheath several knives back in his pocket; his green eyes alight with fire.

She looked back to Ciel who only took a sip of tea, seemingly uninterested "You can leave it at that, Eloise step back and allow me to speak to the others."

Eloise obeyed and Tanaka got off Mr Woodley and they went back to the ranks of the Servants. "Are you alright?" Dagger asked her, "If that scoundrel had even touched you, I would have thrown all those knives and he would be alive right now."

"You shouldn't be protecting me" Eloise said disapprovingly, "Ciel is being accused of murder; our first priority is his safety! I'd never forgive myself if I allowed him to die as well." Everybody agreed with her and they all looked back to where Ciel had appointed Mr Wordsmith as the Leader of this Investigation.

"His name is Arthur" Dagger muttered, "I didn't even know that."

"Ciel just started calling him Mr Wordsmith" Eloise shrugged, "I don't know, But Ciel has an awful habit of giving people names when he doesn't know them. It usually contradicts them as well."

* * *

><p>Arthur Wordsmith wasn't as jittery as he realised he was put in charge of keeping everybody safe and finding the killer. He became more confident in himself and even became confident in the area in bossing Ciel and the other Servants around.<p>

Eloise was the only one that seemed to have a problem with that.

She stood back with her arms folded across her chest as Arthur Wordsmith appointed out orders to everybody who lived in the Phantomhive Manor.

He separated Tanaka and Mey-Rin and made them stay with the guests and as he turned towards the boys and Eloise, she frowned at him dissaprovingly.

"The servants are more familiar with the bottom floor though" Ciel said behind him "We can have them guide us."

He looked at Eloise moreso, "Is that okay with you guys?"

"Yes" the boys nodded obediently, Eloise rolled her eyes, "Fine."

When they separated the groups, Eloise realised with a heavy heart that jerkoff Grey was going to go with them to the bottom floor, she kept close to Dagger as they led the front and across the Manor to the creepy and eerie basements.

…

Eloise couldn't help but smirk when she heard that Grey was afraid of the dark and more afraid of ghosts. He cowered behind Mr Wordsmith as the Novelist said aloud "This place has the kind of atmosphere where one might expect a ghost to pop up at any moment."

Grey let a cry escape him and he shouted at Mr Wordsmith in an angry, yet high octave voice, "_Will you __**cut **__that out_!" he hid behind Ciel "T-Theres no way that there'd be a ghost" he tried to assure himself "I only believe in things that I can cut with my sword!"

"Can you walk by yourself then?" Ciel whhezed under the death grip of Grey, "Its getting kind of hard to walk like this."

Eloise chuckled to herself and looked back to Dagger, together, they cupped their hands around their mouth and made a _'Whoo' _noise into the impeding blackness.

They earned their cry of terror from Grey and Ciel yelled, "Eloise! _Grow up_, you aren't a child."

"Y-Yeah!" Grey shouted at them, his voice reverberating across the dripping stone, "You Circus Freaks, going around and scaring the Queen's Messenger and Butler."

Eloise waved her hand and whispered loudly to Dagger, _"He just doesn't want to admit that he is a coward…a child that is scared of the dark."_

Dagger laughed and earned a chuckle from Bard who was walking beside Finni a little way behind them.

"I'm not scared!" Grey demanded as the servants stopped in front a large wooden door leading to the basement. Bard's lantern filled the gloomy room with a soft golden glow and Eloise stepped aside and motioned to Grey, "Would _you _like to open the door Mr Grey?"

Grey hid back behind Ciel, his face a ghostly white of its own, he shook his head frantically and Ciel gave her a warning glance.

She stepped back as Mr Wordsmith strode forward and grabbed the handle to the door and pulled it open. The hinges creaked and groaned in the night and the thunder rumbling outside added the almost _haunted _effect.

Dagger led everybody in, the basement was a aglow with candles in the chandeliers. It was deathly cold and it made a shiver run down Eloise's spine.

She continued to shake when she saw the three corpses of the people that had been murdered.

One of them… being Sebastian.

Everybody walked forward, except Finni who was trembling, his eyes wide and glassy.

"Put these gloves on when you touch the corpses will ya!" Grey retorted thrusting some cotton gloves in Mr Wordsmith's and Ciel's faces.

"You're well prepared" Wordsmith retorted to Grey "I suppose that saves us some time." He stepped forward and drew back the sheet on one of the corpses and Eloise felt her gut clench as she saw the pale white face of Sebastian.

"He's wet!" she cried, "why is he wet?" Bard looked around before looking back at the roof and muttering "Looks like a leak in the roof caused it."

Eloise looked back to an exasperated Finni, "Poor Mr Sebastian!" he cried, "Please move him!"

Mr Wordsmith agreed with the Gardener, "We should, if he's wet his body will decay faster as well."

"_De-cay?" _Finni mumbled, his face going white.

"We'll need to investigate him, but since he's still suffering from rigour mortis, it'll be hard to take his clothes off" Wordsmith observed "Well, first let's turn him on his back and…"

Wordsmith was abruptly cut off from the hysterical cry that came from Finnian "_**Stop it**_!" he ran forward and pushed Mr Wordsmith back, tears falling from his large blue eyes, "Don't treat Mr Sebastian like a mere object! Mr Sebastian is very dear to…"

"_**Finni**_!"

His name came from both Ciel and Eloise; Ciel snapped at him "If you're just going to have this pointless conversation…leave, it's a nuisance."

Finni stepped back with a wavering lip; Eloise left Dagger's side and went to the Gardener, wrapping her arms around his small shoulders. Finni let more tears fall and Eloise said reassuringly in his ear, "It'll be alright Finni; they wouldn't dare disrespect Sebastian's body in front of me or Ciel. I promise you, I won't let that happen."

Finni nodded his head and Eloise stepped back to see everybody else stripping of Sebastian's jacket and shoes looking for the key that he had on him at all times. They didn't find it so Mr Wordsmith looked up to Ciel and asked him if it could be in his bedroom.

"Let's go have a look" Ciel sighed, not sounding amused in the slightest.

* * *

><p>"Wow" Dagger whistled "His rooms pretty…bare."<p>

"It's spacious" Wordsmith retorted to him.

"It's cause he's a senior servant" Bard grumbled, putting a hand on his hip, "Though we're actually senior servants too."

"We got a nice room" Dagger implied, "I think I'm rather grateful for that as well."

"Enough with the chit-chat" Ciel scolded, "Where do you think he could have hidden the key?"

Eloise looked around the room; it only consisted of a single bed, a bedside table equipped with a clock and lamp, a wardrobe and a set of draws. On the other side, a small desk with another tiny lamp and some papers sat beside the empty fireplace.

"He had the necessities" Dagger muttered, flicking back some black strands of hair back into his caramel coloured mop of hair, "Where do you suggest we start?"

"This is the first time we've been in here" Bard, Finni and Eloise shrugged, "I've only been in here twice since giving him this room as well," Ciel admitted with his fingers on his chin.

"Well in any case" Grey clapped his hands "Lets search in the places one might keep valuables?" So everybody agreed and they began to turn Sebastian's neat and tidy room into a mess looking for one key.

Then Ciel sneezed.

Eloise looked up from the door and saw Ciel sneeze again, her eyes slid across the room and towards the closet. She stepped off from the doorframe and walked over to it, her hand closed around the small golden handle and she pulled the door open, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Cats!" she squawked, as a wave of cats and kittens escaped the confines of the closet. Ciel fell back and sneezed again, his face twisting as his allergies kicked in.

"Aww!" Finni cried, picking one up "These kitties are so cute!"

"That bastard!" Ciel cried furiously "He hid these from me! Don't let any of them out!" he kept on sneezing and everybody raced around trying to catch the cats.

Grey however, he kept going through Sebastian's set of draws, throwing out his clothes and picking out a dried river reed and twirled it around, "He doesn't really seem to have any personal belongings."

Eloise only smiled wryly, when Bard put in scratching his head, "We don't know where he is from or what he does on his days off, the only thing we really know is that he is ridiculously good at his job, the perfect butler."

Mr Wordsmith stood up and rubbed his elbow from being on the floorboards, "If we can't find the key, it's probably not here."

"How about we check everybody's luggage?" Grey smiled brightly, "Including our lovely little Circus Rascal over there."

"Go ahead" Eloise waved, "You won't find anything of interest, and I lost all my belongings when the Circus left me in London, same with Dagger. He was in a coma for a week or more."

"Don't you think everybody else would disagree?" Wordsmith asked rather hesitantly, but Grey only chuckled, "I have higher authority than the Yard! They won't refuse me!"

Everybody piled out of the room, Eloise walking out last, her eyes set on the cats sitting on the middle of Sebastian's bed.

"_Why are those cats wet?" _she wondered idly.

* * *

><p>"Look! I can't sit around and do nothing" Eloise remarked throwing out her hand as she sat in the drawing room while everybody's luggage was being searched. "Why won't you let me do anything? If you want this damned key, let me help look for it!"<p>

"You're still a suspect" Mr Wordsmith cut her off, "People don't trust you, if you just stayed put until we sorted this…"

"A suspect?" Eloise interrupted him this time, "I have no reason to kill these people, including Sebastian, I knew we never got along but it's no reason for me to _murder _him."

"Everybody is a suspect" Ciel said curtly "There is no reason for you to feel like you are singled out Eloise. We just need to find they key."

They stopped talking when everybody began to file into the room, Lau stood there with Ran-Mao, an infuriating smirk on his face, "He could have thrown it out the window?" he suggested "Since it's so small, if it was carried off or buried in this storm, we aren't going to find it."

Eloise slammed her chair back and pushed her way past the congregation of people just as Finni shouted to everybody in the room. "Excuse me!"

Eloise paused briefly as the Gardener said in a rushed voice, "I'm going to search outside!"

"I'm going too!" Mey-Rin broke in.

"Certainly finding it would give us a clue" Ciel sighed "But you don't have to go out of your way to…"

"_**I want to solve this case**_!" Finni cried.

It was all the consolation Eloise needed, so she left the Drawing room and walked out into the darkness, her form melting away.

…

The Cat launched herself from the tree branches, fighting the buffets of wind and stinging raindrops.

The door below her opened and she saw Mey-Rin, Finni and Bard go running out into the rain. "I'll search in the garden!" Mey-Rin cried to Finni, taking off her glasses.

"Okay!" Finni yelled over the roar of the rain, "I'll search over there."

Before they broke apart, Bard's voice shouted out "Wait up you guys…You can't do anything in this storm! Let's go back."

"No" Finni cried, "With this rain, the key might drift off. If we don't start looking now-…"

"You don't even know if it's here!" Bard shouted furiously to the pair of defiant servants, "Well it might be!" Mey-Rin shouted back, her red eyes livid.

The rain continued to hammer down, and a poor little black cat struggled through the wet to see if she could find any sign of this damned key.

"Go back" Bard said quietly "You'll freeze to death."

"But…" Finni stammered, "If it wasn't for Mr Sebastian, we wouldn't be here…"

The Cat sat upright and perked her ears, listening over the sound of rain.

"I wouldn't have been able to stand here with the rain beating down on me, or even be outside at all… We didn't have a thing, No home, no friends, no freedom. It's the same with Dagger and Eloise, everything we have, was given to us by the Young Master and Mr Sebastian."

"Finny don't you go crying now!" Mey-Rin's trembling voice broke out, "When you cry, Mr Sebastian…"

Then they broke down and cried out into the rain.

The servants pouring their grief and sorrow from their hearts, with the rain carrying it all away in streams down the path.


	19. When It All Fell Apart

The Cat crept along the grass, avoiding the scene with the bawling servants.

They had been right, right about everything. Ciel and Sebastian offering them a home, casting aside what they had done in the past and letting them start new.

They had done the same for her and Dagger, allowed them into their family and given them a new reason to live.

She never had the best relationship with that damned Demon, but with him gone... she had to fight from crumbling and bawling her eyes out herself.

The best she could do was to find this blasted killer and get vengeance. She was supposed to be the one to go into a showdown with Sebastian.

Not have him killed by a freakin' fire poker.

She stumbled into a puddle of mud when she heard Bard's voice shout savagely, "**Listen**! I'm the same as you... without that guy or the Young Master, I wouldn't have those things now. What's our job? To protect this house! To protect the Young Master right?"

"_Good job Bard" _the Cat shivered.

"That's why we shouldn't be overdoing it here, remember when we got here? Back then, we couldn't do anything but kill! And yet! Mey-Rin can do the washing without tearing anything apart now, Finni can see the difference between a herb and a weed! And I... Who couldn't cook _at all_, can now make fried eggs at least!"

Bard stood over Mey-Rin and Finni, "The same can be said about Eloise and Dagger, they haven't been here as long as us, but they come from the Circus that assassinated people. They can both cook and clean now, they have lost that murderous glint in their eye and have accepted us as family, they are good people... and that superman! Who can do anything by himself, why did he teach us all those things with such determination?"

The silence almost crushed the Cat as much as the rain did, as she listened to Bard's heartfelt speech, "We were such poor learners, but he did it because when the worst came to the worst and he wasn't around anymore, the Mansion would still have protection right? That's why there's only one thing we should be doing right now, right?"

"Indeed."

A new voice broke in and the tall form of Tanaka appeared with a small smile, holding an umbrella over the servants head, "Please go inside, I will pour some hot tea."

The servants obliged and got to their feet, they began to trudge back towards the Mansion, but before that, Tanaka looked up towards the bushes and called out, "I suggest you do the same thing Miss Eloise, you will catch a death out in this terrible weather."

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

"Are you an idiot?"

Dagger brushed out her hair as Eloise moped on her dresser. "It's pouring down rain out there and you go running out in a body that's weaker than the one you already have! I would have thought you were smarter than that Ellie."

"I want to help find Sebastian's killer," Eloise groaned into the wood, "I hated the bastard, but he didn't deserve to die the way he did. It's not fair and Bard said that we are part of the family and..." Eloise fought the urge to start crying.

Dagger sighed, "I must admit, everybody here has helped us. Ciel and Sebastian, even Bard, Finni and Mey-Rin. I'm grateful for that. I know your desperation to help, but dont do anything stupid or reckless again."

He put down her hairbrush and helped her up, "You've ruined another gown, what one do you want to wear?" Dagger went back to her closet and looked for something to wear as Eloise paced the room in one of her nightgowns.

"It just doesn't add up" she muttered to herself, "Everybody is pointing a finger at Ciel and Sebastian for killing those other people, but who would have killed Sebastian? I just can't seem to..."

"There might be a possibility that there could be an extra person?" Dagger suggested pulling out a simple dress and putting it on her bed, "There might be some sneak toying with us and killing everybody off."

"That isn't very reassuring" Eloise frowned, "I don't exactly want to be running around worrying about everybody else being killed. I just can't help but think that it'll be me next...they bought down Sebastian...Ciel's strongest servant."

She went over and struggled into the simple gown that Dagger had pulled out. Just as he was about to speak, they heard a massive bang from downstairs.

"_The extra person!"_

Eloise felt her chest constrict in horror and she pulled the dress down and ran barefoot from her bedroom and down the stairs.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,..

"Who is that?"

Eloise eyes the person wearily; the man in his mid-forties or fifties was tied in the middle of the room under the scrutiny of everybody.

"Why was he skulking around the Manor? I don't trust him..."

"Who are you again?" Lau asked the man tapping him on the shoulder with a smile on his face, the man that was tied up gave him a smile in response "My name?"

Ciel stood in front of the mirror, with a blunt voice he said to the man and Lau, "It's been a while…Jeremy."

"Huh?" Eloise and Lau deadpanned, "Earl is this old guy a friend of yours?" Lau asked Ciel incredulously.

"Yeah" Ciel stuttered, a sweat drop visible on his forehead. He went forward and introduced the man, "This man is Father Jeremy Rathbone, He's a popular advisor to the local church and somewhat of a famous person."

"Call me Jeremy" the man _smirked_.

"I still don't like him" Eloise leant over to Dagger, eyeing the smirk, "He looks like a man that would _frustrate _me."

The Cirques looked up when Mr Woodley started accusing Jeremy of being the extra person and not having an alibi. No doubt, he was the murderer.

Jeremy evaded all the accusations; he reached for his large black bag and clipped it open, revealing a snowy white owl in the midst of it.

"That's Sebastian's owl!" Mey-Rin exclaimed, "Is it dead?"

Jeremy shook his head, insisting that he had put it to sleep before taking off a small scroll that was tied onto its talons.

'_Sebastian knew that he was going to die' _Eloise thought incredulously as she read the note over Ciel's shoulder _'That jerk sent a note in advance to have 'this' jerk arrive… clever bastard.'_

When everybody started to get into an uproar and accusing Jeremy once more of the triple murder, he let Finni search his pockets, the Gardener pulling out a crumple ticket for a play that was playing in London.

Irene knew right away that it was a play that was playing at this current time and accepted it as an alibi, as did everybody else, Jeremy recited his story and it even had Eloise down pact, this 'jerk' was clearly innocent.

'_I still don't like him…'_

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

"What's up with the guy? Showing up like that and acting all-important! Even though he's a Priest, he acts more like a policeman."

Bard held up the lantern indignantly and Eloise spat, "I still can't believe Ciel made _me _go down and touch those dead bodies! It's hard enough going in there when _Sebastian _is in there; it's giving me the heebie-jeebies."

"Back with Father Jeremy" Finni muttered, "I get the feeling that he will be able to do something about all of this for sure, I don't really know why but…I feel we can trust that man…"

"You serious?" Dagger added, "He irks me, like a snooty know-it-all. Then here he is ordering all of us around like he has done it before."

"Well we are servants" Bard remarked, "Everybody can boss us around and feel like they have done it before, they all have servants of their own."

They reached the basement doors and pulled it open, Bard lifting the light in to illuminate the doorway.

"I am **not **touching bodies" Eloise spat, "I draw a line at that."

They walked over to the middle one and Mey-Rin lifted the sheet to reveal the face of the pale Sebastian, "We'll be moving you now," she said sadly.

Eloise watched the others transfer the bodies to their designated places, standing the whole time feeling sick to the stomach.

Something just didn't seem right.

When everybody had done moving they went back upstairs and timidly knocked on the door where they were greeted by the sight of Ciel, Jeremy and Arthur Wordsmith.

"Young Master" Bard said into the room, "We have finished transferring the bodies…"

Jeremy stood up, clapped his hands together and said a little too enthusiastically, "I'd like you to show me the bodies in the order that they were killed."

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,,

"I'm not going back in there" Eloise retorted, standing outside the room that everybody had congregated in, "I can smell the alcohol from out here, I'm just going to let Father Jeremy to what he is doing and finally be clear of any accusations.

Eloise and Dagger stood outside of the room waiting for the others to come back out before Dagger looked back to her and drawled, "You might be called into the other rooms, you did seem quite intrigued on how Mr Phelp's was killed."

"How couldn't I?" Eloise said, pushing off the doorframe, "Everybody thought that he had been pricked with a needle, did it only seem like a bite mark to me?"

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

"It looks like a bite mark…" Jeremy inspected the wounds on the neck and Eloise flung out her hands and exclaimed loudly, "I'm not the only one…"

"Can you show me the room he died in?" he asked and Ciel nodded, "Yes I'll take you there."

Ciel dismissed everybody else until it was only him, jerkoff Grey, Arthur Wordsmith, Jeremy and a nosy Eloise. Who insisted that she didn't want to leave and see how things panned out.

They were walking up the grand staircase towards Ciel's room talking when Grey turned around and noticed that Father Jeremy wasn't behind them.

He motioned to Ciel and they looked over the banister as Grey asked questiongly, "The old guys not following you know."

Ciel leant over and called out "Jeremy?"

Then from the bottom of the stairs, Father Jeremy appeared, "I'm coming, I'm coming…"

'_Old coot' _Eloise thought vehemently, _'Why is he even dawdling on behind anyway?'_

…

Eloise stood in the doorway as they walked into the room with Sebastian in it. "I believe you told me that the Butler was stabbed to death after being hit?"

He bent down and picked up the sheet just as Ciel collapsed and began to shudder and cough.

"Ciel?"

Eloise rushed in, helped Mr Wordsmith catch the Earl, Grey spun around and they all crowded around Ciel.

"I'm sorry…," he whispered, "Seeing Sebastian's corpse so many times…it's just too much for me."

"Weren't you fine when you stripped the Butler's corpse a while ago?" Grey asked.

"That's disrespectful!" Eloise suddenly shouted, "He has lost his servant that was dear to him. No doubt, you would act the same way if someone close to you was killed! I can't believe you Grey, you are such a _jerk_."

She held Grey's gaze, her face warming with anger and eyes pricking with tears, "Give him some respect and leave the room!" she looked down to Ciel "Do you want to leave the room Ciel?"

Before she could speak any more, Jeremy flipped the sheet back down with a curt, "I see." He sat back on his heels and looked at the body, "It seems that the Butler was actually killed very simply."

"You're done already?" Grey rounded on him and Jeremy met his gaze, "Yes…I have seen enough."

They walked back out of the room and Grey waved his hand "It's almost dinner time, I'm hungry… What's on the menu?"

"Who knows" Ciel yawned, "Shall I ask the servants?"

He looked to Eloise who folded her arms, "How am I supposed to know? I'm not the cook."

"It's fine" Grey smirked walking down the hall, I'll be looking forward to it. I'm heading back." Jeremy looked back to the remaining three people, "Well why don't we head back too? I have some preparations to look over for tonight so please go ahead."

Ciel and Mr Wordsmith agreed and left the hall, going back towards the staircase and Jeremy went the other way and turned down into the other hall. Eloise was about to follow Ciel when she noticed Earl Grey duck around the corner, his hand around the hilt of his sword.

She followed him, suspicion burning her, she saw him run across the hallway and back to the room that Sebastian's body was. "Hey!" she called out indignantly as Grey pulled out his sword and kicked the door in.

Eloise raced down the hall and wrestled down his arm, "Don't go swinging your sword around, there's…" she looked into the empty room bar the dead body and pushed Grey out, "What were you thinking?"

Grey pushed past her, went to the body and whipped the sheet off Sebastian's body. Eloise gasped in outrage, stormed to Grey and pushed him back, her eyes flickering over the corpse of Sebastian, "Get out!" she demanded. "You are so disrespectful to the deceased."

Grey stared at the corpse with a frown on his face, "There's no way…"

"No way what!?" Eloise shouted, "_Get out_!"

She pushed Grey out of the room and slammed the door shut behind them. "Go to the dining hall and wait for further instructions from the Earl" Eloise demanded, Grey only smirked at her. "So bossy little Cirque, do you even know who I am?"

"I do" Eloise stated, "Yet you are in the Phantomhive Manor, where there is a possible murderer and deceased corpses haunting us."

Grey drew back at the word 'haunting' before sighing, "Fine, I'll go back to the Hall. But you better make me something spectacular for dinner alright?"

Earl Grey strode down the hall with a bounce in his step and left Eloise very much alone in the hall. The brunette sighed and ran her fingers through her messy hair, "Such a jerk, expecting me to cook his dinner."

She turned around and looked down to her bare feet, "I'm not even dressed properly" she sighed to herself, "No shoes, barely dressed and my hair isnt even tied up." She shook her tresses before padding down the hallway and to the relative direction of the kitchen.

…

"_There's no food_?"

Eloise stared in shock at the servants in the kitchen, looking just as terrified as her. Dagger sat on a hessian sack full of potatoes with his arms folded, "We had three days of supplies left and _Grey _ate more than half his share. There's nothing left!"

"Imagine if Sebastian was here?" Eloise gulped, "He'd probably hang us up by our toes at failing this. What are we going to do?"

She looked over to Bard helplessly and the Cook only shrugged "We don't even have any more meat or fish to serve as the main dish."

Just as Eloise approached the table in the centre of the kitchen beside Finni, there was a brisk knocking on the wooden door behind them.

"Oh no" Eloise squeaked as Finni visibly shuddered in fright.

"Hey, Hey it better not be that man in white again" Bard looked at the door with his face white as the knocking continued on the door.

"There's no more food left here," Finni stammered and Mey-Rin looked to everybody and suggested in a wobbly voice, "Lets- just pretend that we are out and…"

They all froze when a voice came from the other side, "You guys are in there aren't you? Won't you open the door?"

"That's Mr Jeremy" Finni breathed.

Everybody sagged in relief and Dagger fell against the wall sighing in relief. Finni went and opened the door and the sight of Father Jeremy was enough to make Eloise smile and do an inner happy dance.

"Is there something you like?" Finni asked timidly, letting the Priest in. He walked over the stone, looking over the kitchen with his lips pursed.

Bard folded his arms and spat "If yer scavengin' for food, there's none here Mr Pastor."

"Bard!" Mey-Rin screeched, her face going red "You don't say that! We're supposed to be the servants that the Young Master is relying on to feed his guests."

Father Jeremy looked at each person in the kitchen, his face disapproving as he looked at him or her. When his eyes fell on Eloise, he frowned "Why are you not dressed to etiquette?"

Eloise looked down to her bare feet and wiggled her toes before looking back up at the Pastor, "Well, I was in the middle of doing that before you come in hog tied. I haven't been bothered ever since, so here I am?"

She shrunk back at the sharp disappointment before she meekly voiced her opinion, "I've had a lot on my mind…about a killer and all?" She looked back to the others for support and Bard pointed out, changing the subject off Eloise.

"The food?"

The Priest sighed, "I haven't come to gather such things but… more importantly, you're saying that you're out of provisions?"

Everybody nodded.

"I see," he muttered, looking at the meagre portions spread out on the table, "You're in trouble for tonight's menu?"

Bard thrust a finger towards the door chewing on his cigarette, "Moreover, that guy in white eats a ridiculous amount! We can't keep up with him."

Eloise looked around the food rations, "We can't serve any of this up for the main dish, Ciel's reputation will be ruined. He'll blame us for embarrassing him!"

Everybody squirmed uncomfortably and Jeremy looked up and looked at Finni, "Is there a herb garden here?"

Finni nodded, "Yes Mr Sebastian planted a lot of them here? Are we going to cook with them?" He looked to Bard for help and Bard looked the Priest up and down, "Herbs have no substance, it won't fill you up."

"There are herbs that hold medicinal properties" Jeremy explained, "Some even have the ability to stifle hunger."

"Well that helps?" Eloise looked to Bard, "If we can shut Grey up for a night before booting him out of here and eating our food…?"

They looked back to Jeremy who started to walk towards Dagger, "And we have meat as well…" At this statement, Dagger's eyes popped wide, "M-Meat?" he stammered. He scrambled off the sack and Jeremy nodded. Dagger's response was more than hostile, "Hey!" he shouted, "I'm a part of this Manor, people don't go around and _chop _people up you murderous, cannibalistic…"

"I'm not going to chop you up" Jeremy looked to the Marksman, "What on earth are you spouting? What gave you that idea?"

Dagger hesitated and looked back to the other servants, Bard and Eloise hiding their laughter from Jeremy. "W-Well" he stuttered, "When you said _meat _you looked at _me_…" he frowned before flinging out his hand in defence "What was I supposed to think?"

"You are such a moron" Eloise laughed, "Dagger, your face…ha it was _priceless_." She clutched her stomach and laughed some more as Dagger edged away from Jeremy and back towards her, eyeing the Priest with distrust in his eyes.

Jeremy bossed everybody around, preparing the ingredients for dinner and Eloise couldn't help but think this bossy Priest was an awful lot like Sebastian. With the bossiness and all, and the under appreciation he gave the servants.

_A lot like Sebastian._

,.,.,.,.,.,,,,,,,.,,

"Take off your clothes!"

The statement left everybody speechless and Eloise fell from the doorway. Ciel looked at Father Jeremy in shock, the food falling from his fork and splattering back on his dinner plate.

"What?"

Ciel didn't look amused as he put down his fork, Jeremy only smiled at him, "We have to catch the killer tonight Earl, as you will be the next target."

Eloise looked to Jeremy then back to Ciel, "What do you propose we do?"

Jeremy relayed his plans on what he intended to do, which is when Ciel, Jeremy, Ran-Mao, Grey and Arthur Wordsmith ended up in his bedroom in the dark with Eloise and Dagger stationed outside to catch anybody who tried to flee the room.

…

Eloise sat against the wall and stared at the wall opposite her, "Do you think they're going to catch this killer?" she muttered, "Will everything go back to normal after this? Even though Sebastian was killed?"

"To be honest," Dagger sighed, "Ever since we have come here Ellie, nothing has _been _normal. It's like this house is cursed or something. Everything bad seems to target it but then…good things happen as well."

Eloise turned her head to stare at her friend in the low light, "How so?" she questioned. Dagger looked back at her and chuckled "Well for one, it bought us together, closer than what we have ever been. It's given us a new chance, now that… Sebastian has been knocked out of the picture; you will stop stumbling and find what you are supposed to do in this Manor."

"Sebastian and I were supposed to protect Ciel together" Eloise sighed, "Like two looming entities, one of light and the other of darkness. Ciel will go insane without that damned Butler."

The Ex Cirques suddenly stopped when from inside the Earl's bedroom, there was a racket and people shouting from inside.

Eloise jumped to her feet and gazed at the door waiting for it to fling open and she was going to have to catch the person who had killed everybody.

There was a minute of more racket before there was abrupt silence and Eloise felt fright well up inside her. She sent a wide gaze to Dagger, "Are they alright in there? What if the murderer got to them?"

Dagger reached for the door handle, hesitating slightly before it swung open with an eerie '_creak_.' The Ex Cirques gazed into the darkness of the room before a shadow appeared before them. Jeremy appeared with Grey and Mr Wordsmith behind him, "Good work" he said, "We caught the killer, please make your way to Mr Woodley's designated room.

…

They looked all so serious when they walked into the room minutes after Eloise and Dagger appeared. Finni and Bard hadn't even been able to ask any questions before Wordsmith and Grey walked in with solemn expressions on their face.

"We bought the killer along" Grey said monotonously, earning a squeak of surprise from Lady Irene who clung to the arm of Mr Keane.

Jeremy followed in after with a tight smile, he presented what he had in his hands and there were gasps of surprise when a snake was brandished, hissing and writhing in Jeremy's hands. "This is the killer," he announced.

"A snake?"

Eloise looked to Dagger with her eyes wide, she looked back to Jeremy, "It almost as if I recognise that… Mr Phelp's was bitten. I think…" she clamped her mouth shut and Dagger pursed his lips as Wordsmith commented on the situation.

"It's hard to believe but it really came to get the young lady wearing the Earl's clothes."

Jeremy looked down to the snake, "To compensate their lack of sight, snakes have a highly developed sense of smell and hearing, that's why they are able to find their prey in the dark through sound vibrations and smell."

He held it up to show everybody, "In other words…the snake was most likely trained by being fed right after it was exposed to the Earl's scent. If one uses a snake, it doesn't matter if they have a key or an alibi."

"Well that's obvious" Dagger retorted, "The Circus was full of snakes, we had a snake Charmer and he knew all about snakes, so it was more than obvious when it rubbed off on us." He looked around the room before Woodley thrust a finger towards him, "If you knew so much about snakes; maybe it was you who had trained the snakes to kill everyone!"

"Pfft" Dagger snorted, "Yeah I trained a snake to pick up a gun and shoot somebody in the chest while I was asleep? Pretty decent trick huh?"

"Stop with the sarcasm McKinley" Ciel scolded, "We have to determine who did this."

While they were arguing, Eloise approached Jeremy and inspected the writing black snake in his hands. "That's a Black Mamba," she observed. She looked back up to the Priest who nodded and agreed.

"You're right; they inhabit South Africa and possess a strong neurotoxin. If bitten, the victim will die within the hour. It also has special characteristics, being fast movement and climbing trees. It's the perfect tool for murder."

"It's still a snake but" Eloise muttered, "They aren't smart, maybe it was a mishap and the killer sent the snake in the wrong room, not knowing that Ciel was in another room" she stepped back, "So Mr Phelp's was the one that was killed because of that snake…He was in Ciel's bed this morning."

"Precisely" Jeremy affirmed.

"It's illegal to transport poisonous snakes on trading ships," Wordsmith piped up, holding out his hand. "I used to be a doctor on a boat that sailed the African Sea course as a part time job, the luggage was always checked."

"So it was smuggled then" Lau interjected "Bribing the captain of a private freight ship is probably the easiest way."

The Chinese man looked to Ciel who looked almost bored, "Indeed, you'd need close connections with an African business."

"But wait" Eloise held up her hand, "So if you're talking about freight ships that sail from Africa, the main things that are imported is gold or diamond-…" she trailed off and her violet eyes slid over to Mr Woodley, as did everybody else.

Mr Woodley looked shocked; he held up his hands "N-No" he stammered, "It wasn't me." He looked over to Lau and pointed to him, shouting, "Trading is Kun Lun's over there isn't it?" he accused, making a racial comment to Lau and Ran-Mao.

"No" Lau smiled "We don't do business with any African companies. Don't go blaming me for something I didn't do."

Grey held up his hand and grabbed Woodley's attention, "Well, it really is a bit much to be deciding the killer based on the snake being from Africa alone."

Everybody started to look confused and a little unsure, Woodley stood up and seemed almost relieved, "That's right" he agreed with Grey, "And what about when Siemens was killed? I had a perfect alibi."

"That alibi may not be worth all that much" a smug voice came out.

All eyes fell on Jeremy who stood against the door with a smile on his face; he stepped forward and began to explain.

"What if the corpse, the Butler and the others found wasn't a corpse?"

"Huh?" Eloise deadpanned "What the hell are you on about? How is that even possible? The guy was dead and there was blood everywhere."

"Did you inspect the wound?" Jeremy inquired. Wordsmith came to Eloise's rescue this time around, "It was quite dark, so I wasn't able to see anything."

Jeremy held up his hand, "Does everyone know of the potion Juliet drank in 'Romeo and Juliet?'

Eloise shook her head, "I didn't read in the Circus, we had other things to do other than read." She looked to Irene when the Actress held up her hand rather meekly "You mean go into a state of apparent death but come back to life?"

"That can't happen" Dagger interjected, "I thought it was just a bunch of nuisance."

"No it exists" Jeremy said "It induces this state, is called Tetrodoxtoxin, it was only recently discovered. If you refine it in a certain way, it came bring upon the state that 'Juliet' was in."

"Tetrodotoxin?" Wordsmith muttered, "Isn't that a poison that is found in puffer fish and octopuses?" Jeremy nodded, smiling "Of course you have all the latest information. Since it was dark and nobody here had the relevant training or knew the medical procedures, how were we to know?"

Wordsmith nodded, "If we assess the situation, the killer might have wanted to lure the Earl into a trap, it would be hard to say if Siemens had an accomplice though. He seemed quite out of bounds once he had some alcohol in him."

"Fine" Grey remarked, "If this even happened, if either or you are lying… If he drank a poison, where'd the bottle go?"

"That's easy" Ciel said, "He got rid of it in a place no one could examine right away, In the fireplace for example."

"Where is this going?" Eloise looked to Dagger, her companion only shrugged as they watched the scene before them, "It seems like they are going around in circles and blaming each other."

"Well I think there is a lead," Dagger muttered as they leant against the wall. "I can't help but shake the feeling that something here didn't go…" he trailed off.

"Didn't go what?" Eloise asked, "Finish the sentence Dagger."

Dagger shook his head, "Have the feeling that something _didn't go according to plan_."


	20. Conclusion

**So I have been looking over this and have realised that these chapters have been sitting on my computer for months.**

**o.0 I have up to Chapter 24 prepared and I have come to know how close I actually am to finishing this story.**

**So I will continue updates until I run out of chapters. **

**I have other stories to update now! So enjoy.**

**(It may be a bit boring and some mistakes, but there is only so much my tired eyes can take.)**

* * *

><p>"Woodley killed Sebastian?"<p>

Eloise stood nose to nose with Mr Woodley as the story and the tension escalated, "You were the one that hit him? _And left him to die_?" Eloise was livid; she clenched her hands so tightly that her nails dug into the palms of her hands. Crimson blood began to seep through her white fists and trickled across her skin.

"Eloise" Ciel said rather calmly, "Step back and let me speak to him."

There was a moment of hesitation before Eloise stepped back, her gaze never leaving Woodley. She allowed Ciel to step beside her, his one sapphire eye glancing to the blood dripping to the floor before back up to Woodley, "I think we should search the room once more, if you had recovered and destroyed the vial of poison after we were done searching the bedrooms, it'd be perfect."

"That's a false accusation" Woodley demanded, "There's nothing like that here."

"Well" Grimsby Keanes shouted, "Stop floundering and show us then!" he got to his feet and strode to the door, pushing past Eloise and Ciel, "If you have nothing to hide then we will believe you, but things are looking down on you Woodley."

Before anybody could even fit in another word, Keanes had left Lady Irene's side and left the room, in the direction of the bedroom where Sebastian had been killed.

"Eloise" Ciel looked up to the brunette, "Follow him and see where this goes will you?"

She nodded, "Alright."

She stepped away from the Earl and followed the Manager down the halls and towards the murder room where the Butler had been murdered.

"_I swear" _she seethed to herself as she walked barefoot down the wooden hall, _"If Woodley had got to Sebastian before I did, Hell itself will freeze over from my wrath."_

As they reached the room, Keanes went right for the fireplace, picking up a fireplace brush and began to push the soot aside. A plume of ashy smoke billowed up and enveloped the man and the woman standing above it.

Eloise began to cough and turned her head away so she wouldn't aggravate the smoke as Keanes covered his mouth and pushed the soot around in the fireplace.

Behind them, everybody else had stepped into the now ashy room and stood behind the pair. Keanes stopped and Eloise bent over him to peer into the fireplace. Her heart fluttered when she saw a glint in the dim light.

"Glass shards" she cried out, swinging around looking at Woodley, "There IS glass shards in there." Woodley looked thunderstruck barely choking out a _"Wha?!" _

By then, Jeremy and Mr Wordsmith had pushed aside Eloise and Keanes and bent down to examine the glass shards.

"But its not like we can tell what it was like this…" Wordsmith began uncertainly looking at Jeremy who replied nonchalantly as he picked up the pieces. "It'll be fine" he reassured him "If we pick it up and put it back together."

"That's impossible" Wordsmith retorted, "It's been reduced to bits! How can you possibly believe that we can piece it back together?"

"Nonsense" Jeremy bit back, his gaze never leaving the glass shards he had fished out of the fireplace. He began to rearrange them with eerie practised ease "It's like a puzzle without a picture," he stated. He moved away to reveal a cracked, but complete vial "It's done" he said, holding it out to show everybody."

Wordsmith backed away, his gaze falling on Eloise. Her face set in a puzzled frown as she eyes Jeremy wearily.

"It looks like an ampule of Medicine" Wordsmith stated "T-To find this here means…"

"So you were the killer after all!" Keanes shouted at Woodley, pointing the accusing finger at him. Woodley only held up his hands helplessly "I-I have no idea what this is!"

Wordsmith stood against the wall and shook his head at Woodley, "To want to trap a _child_…why on Earth would you want to do that?"

Before Woodley could choke out an answer, a reply came from Earl Phantomhive, "Diamonds."

Everybody stared at the Earl in confusion, so he explained. "My Funtom Company and the Major Company Rose, have the leading technology to cooperate and take off in the jewellery industry. However, a few days ago, President Rose was murdered and all our plans were put on hold. But if they were to be put back in motion, the Woodley Company would boast about having the latest technology."

He stared at Woodley, his eye blank and steely "That's why you thought you'd kill me now right? It was a careless thought anyway."

Eloise's eyes bored into Woodley's, her bleeding hands trembling, "You were going to kill the Earl as well now you murderer? Do you think you were going to make a step closer to killing the Master of this house whilst I still prowled the halls?"

"_I didn't do it_" Woodley shouted, pointing the finger at Ciel again "_Please believe me! I'm being set up here! By this __**KID**__…The Queen's Watch…"_

Before Woodley could shout the last of his accusation, it only took a second for Earl Grey to swoop in behind him. Before long, Woodley found a sword pressed against his neck and Grey's deathly voice, _"Shut up."_

"I don't need your explanations" he threatened, "I will listen to your stories in jail."

Woodley kept trying to redeem himself, only irritating Grey in the process, a tick mark appeared and Grey pressed the steel closer, shutting Woodley up, "If you don't want to be killed" Grey stated "I suggest you be quiet. I'm in a _really bad mood right now_."

"Earl Grey?"

Ciel sounded almost childish; "I have quite a fitting item here" he smiled, holding a pair of irons that he had seemingly brandished from thin air, "How about we use it?"

Grey looked down on Ciel, his silver eyes glinting before he lowered his sword enough to grab the irons and cuff Woodley up before escorting him out of the room.

_Ciel had caught the killer._

…

"A toast" Jeremy announced, pouring some wine into glasses and passing them around, "To celebrate solving the crime…"

Eloise stood by Ciel as the Earl smiled up to Mr Wordsmith, "Thankyou" he began "Because of the indispensable help you gave us today" he smiled.

Eloise smiled down at Ciel before looking back up at Wordsmith, "You were probably one of the only people that didn't suspect Dagger or I about the murders. I'm grateful that you saved Ciel and kept him safe."

Ciel waved his hand, "I'm certain that I will never be harmed in the walls of this Manor" he said dismissively, "My protection is to great, besides, no murderer will get away with staining my Family Name."

…

"I'm glad that this is all over" Eloise sighed as she watched everybody go into their respective carriages and Woodley, be escorted into the police wagon cuffed and miserable.

"Everything will sort of go back to normal," Dagger sighed from beside her as he watched the scene before him.

"Nothing will go back to normal" Eloise pursed her lips, "Woodley got away with killing one of our family members Dagger. It's taking all I have not to go running over there and killing Woodley myself."

Dagger stared at her with dull eyes, "Why weren't you like this when our Circus Family was killed?" he deadpanned to her.

"Because Peter was a moron and led all of you to your death!" Eloise snapped, "I told that little twerp not to and he ignored me. As for Joker…" she trailed off and looked away. Dagger sighed and looked the other way as well.

They watched Mr Wordsmith go into his carriage, Jeremy approached and knocked on the window and they began to talk.

"I wonder what's going to happen with Jeremy" Dagger muttered, "Will he just disappear and go back to the church?"

"No" Eloise muttered, shaking her head, "Something hasn't been right ever since that Priest came here. It's just an inkling feeling and I just can't seem to put my finger on it." She watched the scene some more before Jeremy pulled away from the carriage and the driver pulled the horses out.

As the carriage began to leave, a bitter cold seem to descend upon the Manor and Eloise unexpectedly felt lonely.

"Come on" Dagger sighed as the Carriage departed, "Let's go back inside and fix all this up. Do you think it's going to feel eerie now that three people had died in the Manor? Do you think their ghosts…"

"No ghosts" Eloise said firmly as she and Dagger walked up the stairs and into the entrance of the Manor, "There will be no ghosts, I will be annoyed at trying to get the smell of alcohol out of the room that Siemens died in. Do you know how hard that is?"

They followed Ciel and Jeremy up the stairs, "Just all the cleaning that _I _will have to do" she sighed. "What cleaning?" Both Dagger and Ciel said to her, "You spend your time either complaining about cleaning or avoiding cleaning" Ciel said down to her. "It's like you complain about having life easy?"

"Well…" Eloise pouted, "Things would be _different _now and I really don't…"

Before she could finish her sentence, the doors to the Manor suddenly flew open with an ear-splitting crash.

All four people on the stairs turned to look over their shoulders.

"Why so flustered" Jeremy commented wryly as Mr Wordsmith came back into the Manor, his face red and confused. "Did you forget something?" Jeremy asked him.

"I came back to confirm the truth Pastor Jeremy" Wordsmith said up to them on the stairs, "No" he said "Butler Sebastian."

…

Silence fell about everybody and Eloise stumbled back against the bannister in shock, her eyes flickering to Jeremy.

He smirked, "Excellent" he chuckled, reaching up to caress his face "Seems we underrated you a little, or wouldn't I be more likely to say…"

He began to pull his skin off, it came away in a sticky, rubbery substance to reveal flawless white skin underneath, "It appears that we have rudely underestimated you Sir? Mr Wordsmith?"

The black hair tumbled around his face and Sebastian smiled down to Mr Wordsmith, Eloise stood off to the side, gaping like a fish.

"_That was the reason why I disliked 'Jeremy,' it was Sebastian…that bastard."_

"I can't believe it" Wordsmith stuttered, "How could something so unreal be happening?"

"Oh?" Sebastian cocked his head, "Didn't you come back because you were certain of this? If you had just gone back, you would have returned to your peaceful reality. So why did you come back then?"

"I'd have to go after the Yard's carriage immediately" Wordsmith breathed, he stepped back but only looked surprised when Ciel began to laugh. His laughter rung out around the entrance hall and he looked back down the Mr Wordsmith, "Your sense of justice is so strong" he commented "Didn't you realise that if you knew the truth, you wouldn't be able to return home?"

"What?" Wordsmith looked genuinely frightened, Eloise snapped her gaze to the Earl, who only smiled, and waved his hand, "I'm joking," he began to walk up the stairs "…It's as you guessed" he said "Woodley wasn't the criminal, in 'this' crime at least…"

"What do you mean?" Wordsmith muttered and Ciel shook his head, "However, he deserves to be in that carriage." He began to walk up the stairs, "Let's not stand around, let's sit and we will explain the story."

Wordsmith hesitated and Sebastian only turned around with a malicious smirk, "You wish to know the truth don't you? Don't be scared…we won't eat you."

* * *

><p>Wordsmith spoke his doubts and how he had found out that Jeremy had been Sebastian, They had been too perfect, nobody had a reason to doubt the fake character dubbed Jeremy, he explained how well rehearsed it had all been.<p>

When it had come to Lord Siemens death, he had pointed out that Sebastian had stood back the entire time, yet, he had acted so swiftly at the party. He didn't even come to Ciel's defence and had kept silent the entire time.

"So wait!" Eloise interjected, "I thought I heard 'gunshots.' Was I mistaken? You say he was stabbed after that?"

"Quite possibly" Sebastian said to her, with his crimson eyes aglow, "You may have heard an unfortunate byproduct that sounded very much like gunshots. But I assure you, that nobody had been shot."

So when they got back to the story, the more Wordsmith spoke, the more it began to make sense and Eloise couldn't help the boiling anger that was building up inside her. She had her doubts all along but she hadn't acted on them, Sebastian had tricked her.

He would have seen her tears and her defence to him while he had been 'dead.'

When she was through with him, he would be wishing he was dead.

Ciel and Sebastian began to argue as Wordsmith began to clear things out. Sebastian smirked to Wordsmith that he and the Earl had predicted everything throughout the party and to Lord Siemens death including his own.

As the story was told, Sebastian revealed that other people had been in on the trick. Including Earl Grey, who had been the one to 'kill' Sebastian and torment Ciel.

Eloise's dislike for the Butler hit the roof; her now bandaged hands began to tremble. She had the urge to summon her Keys and wreak havoc, but she couldn't risk herself and blow her secret.

Sebastian continued to tell the story, after Grey had stabbed him and left him on the floor, he had gone down to the Wine Cellar to see Siemens. Sebastian had followed him and Siemens had already awoken.

Grey killed him out of spite with his sword and left him to bleed out on the floor before disappearing.

Afterwards, Sebastian had gone and left instructions to the Servants.

"_Leaving me outside whilst this happened" _Eloise thought vehemently, _"He knew I would catch on, that's why he only left the note."_

"And judging by Eloise's face" Sebastian smirked, "She remembered that night when she turned the whole Manor upside down looking for me, I couldn't risk her seeing me otherwise, my plans would have been in jeopardy."

Wordsmith was thunderstruck and Eloise fought the urge to cry at being fooled the way she was. She didn't appreciate being used like a toy, _Sebastian was going to get it._

Sebastian explained that Finni had found him and it had been worth it when Grey had looked confused at his 'death.'

Sebastian smirked down to Ciel, "The Young Master put on quite a realistic show and was able to relay his next orders… But what I didn't expect was Miss Eloise's act of defiance and grief." Sebastian looked to Eloise with a smirk, but that quickly dropped when he saw Eloise's face.

"You thought that was funny?" she shouted at him, her face was flushed and tears streamed down her face and into the frills of her gown, "When I come in and find you dead and bleeding all over the floor? Did you expect me to laugh?"

"Eloise…" Ciel warned her, but she wasn't going to have any of it.

"To play a nasty trick on me the way both of you did… I don't know what to believe anymore, after I lost my whole family to your hands only to become _attached _you all. To see Ciel accused of murder and Sebastian bleeding on the floor, It was gut-wrenching."

"Oh" Sebastian mocked smiled and put his hand to his chest, "To think that we had forged some sort of _bond _Miss Eloise, it has made me quite…"

"No!"

Eloise had enough of his sarcasm and she stepped forward to Sebastian, raised her hand and slapped him clean across the face. It left a throbbing red mark across his cheek and Eloise's violet eyes were swimming with tears. "I cried for you" she seethed, "I let my grief pour for you, I honestly began to think that you had been a genuine, good…_person_. Now…" she shook her head, "Now you just made me realise why I _hated _you in the first place!"

She went to go hit him again, raising her hand once more before Sebastian reached up, grabbed her hand in his and began to squeeze. He pulled her against him, Eloise thumping into his chest, her face livid.

"You would have just gotten in the way" Sebastian smirked down to her, "All my careful planning wasted because you are so unpredictable. Several times you almost stumbled upon me and I had to will you away."

Eloise sniffled pathetically, "I still hate you" she mumbled up to him "You wandered around pretending to be dead, we all went running out in the pouring rain to find this vial, we all cried over you and…"

"Yes I saw that" Sebastian looked down on her, "I was aware of everything, you're little prowls and midnight escapades, walking around half dressed with no shoes?"

He shook his head, "You were meant to be representing us and you went and dressed like that?"

"I-hate-you" Eloise sniffled, "Leave me alone, not that you would have cared what happened between Dagger and I anyway."

"Eloise and Sebastian!"

Ciel didn't look amused, "Draw away from each other and let us finish the story, then…you can have your argument."

Sebastian released Eloise, she stepped back and massaged her crushed hand as Sebastian went back to Ciel's side and retold the story.

He had dashed about as Jeremy, keeping one foot in front of everybody, he was clever and quick and nobody suspected a thing.

Damn, perfect Sebastian.

"So what about the body inspecting?" Wordsmith asked, "You had been there and…"

"That's where Mr Phelp's came in handy" Sebastian smirked, "But I had to be quick because Earl Grey had come back for some investigating. Luckily, Eloise had come with him and had delayed him enough so I could slide back into place."

"Grey is a jerk" Eloise spat, interrupting them. "The way he had disrespected everybody, thinking that he can get away with everything because he is of high authority… I would give him a lash of who is high auth…"

"Would you now?" Sebastian smirked, "I would love to see that then Miss Eloise."

Ciel and Wordsmith continued to talk as Sebastian riled up Eloise, but silence fell upon them when the words came out of Ciel's mouth, "Everything was her Majesty the Queen's wish."

"Siemens and even Woodley?" Wordsmith asked, "Woodley was innocent in all of this, so why pin the blame…"

"Like I had said before," Ciel said coolly, taking a sip of tea "He ran a diamond polishing business up front but he is actually a weapons dealer who sells illegal weapons that he got with those diamonds. Furthermore, there was an incident about two weeks ago where President Rose was murdered. Woodley was the one that did it."

He sat back and folded his hands under his chin, "He was the perfect scapegoat, it would clear the Queen's worries and make sure the young Master kept out of harm, its hit two birds with one stone."

"W-What are you?" Wordsmith stuttered, his eyes dancing around Ciel, Sebastian and Eloise, the woman may not have known but when I saw the Cat with the violet eyes…it was you?"

Eloise looked to Sebastian, "I thought I was rather inconspicuous?"

Ciel lowered his hands, "Tracking down people who break the commandments of the British underground society and dealing with them…The Queen's Watchdog." He gave Wordsmith a small smile, "What happened this time around was no more than a game between the Queen and I, where I could reconfirm whether or not I had this talent after a recent mishap."

He sent a brief flicker in Eloise's direction before settling back on Wordsmith, "There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact, wasn't it Mr Wordsmith? It has been in front of you all along."

"Indeed" came the dark voice of Sebastian as he loomed beside Ciel and Eloise, "The truth that we aren't human."

Eloise stepped beside Sebastian and stared down at Mr Wordsmith as he went tumbling to the floor, "The Butler that was seemingly so perfect and the Maid with the fake leg that can melt into darkness and watch your every move?"

Wordsmith glanced up at them fearfully, "Now that I do know it" Sebastian continued, "I shall do my best to forget it, right Mr Wordsmith?"

The writer scrambled up to his feet and began to run towards the exit, but Sebastian was quick and he blocked the doorway, only to have Wordsmith crash into his chest.

Eloise stepped up behind him, Wordsmith sandwiched between the two of them and Sebastian leant down, his face twisting up and his eyes starting glow crimson, "One wonders what would happen, were you to reveal this matter?"

Wordsmith backed away, only to thump into Eloise, he looked up to see an almost ethereal glow about her, her violet eyes blank "We're sure that you understand don't you?" she said in an eerie double voice.

"I'll never say!" Wordsmith cried, running from them "I'll never say it, so please."

Sebastian revealed long pointed fangs and Eloise's eyes narrowed to slits, the two standing in front of Ciel, "With those words" Sebastian said with his red eyes, "I will make sure that you never, ever forget them."

"_**We're always watching."**_

As Mr Wordsmith left the Manor with fervent terror, Ciel sat back and sipped his tea. "I wonder what stories would come out of this?" he said more so to himself, "Mr Wordsmith…No…Mr Arthur Conan Doyle. It will be interesting."

* * *

><p>"You!" Eloise smacked Sebastian's chest, "I can't believe you make me look like a bad guy!" she shoved her fingers into her eyes and began to rub them, trying to make them go back to normal. "Why did you have to show your true self to him anyway?" Ciel said from his chair.<p>

Sebastian smirked, reaching up and taking Eloise's hands away from her eyes, "He's a writer" he explained, "If he goes through an eccentric experience, he will absolutely want to write about it. Writers are those kind of creatures."

He looked down to Eloise's face as her pupils went round again, "There" he said, "You didn't have to rub them. You made them yourself; I'm almost wondering why you didn't show _your _true form." Ciel looked up at her, his eyes peeking over the rim of the teacup as he took a sip, almost anticipating her answer.

"I don't need one," Eloise pouted, folding her arms and looking away, "Besides, you don't need to see it even if I did have one."

Ciel set don the teacup, "It will come one day" he said nonchalantly, "Then I will be able to determine whether or not you are one to keep by my side."

"Keep dreaming" Eloise sniffed, "The day will come when you get your little backside kicked and it will be me that will have to come save you."

* * *

><p>"Hey Ellie!"<p>

Dagger came running up the hall, his caramel hair in a frenzy and his green eyes alight with worry, "Is everything alright? What happened?"

"Nothing" Eloise said firmly as they began to walk across the entrance hall, "It just made me realise how pompous and idiotic Sebastian is, I remember why I _hated _him so much."

Dagger fell into step beside her, "You had me thinking differently while everybody thought he was 'dead.' We just have to be careful around them Ellie, they're quite the duo."

They walked down the hall before they heard their names called out from the front doors of the Manor, "Eloise? Mr McKinley?"

Both Cirques stopped in their tracks and looked over their shoulder to see Sebastian standing at the door looking at them expectantly.

"Eugh" Eloise groaned, "What does he want now?"

They both turned around and made their way to Sebastian, as they neared, the Butler gestured out the door and said, "The Young Master and I would like to show you something."

The three walked across the terrace and towards the green house where Ciel was sitting. Sebastian led the Cirques in and closed the door behind them and Eloise looked around uncertainly, "What's the matter? I haven't done anything wrong again have I?"

"Just stand there and listen" Ciel said coolly, "With Mr Phelp's death, what did you suspect Eloise?"

Eloise sent a nervous glance to Dagger before looking back to Ciel and shrugging slightly, "Well we proved that didn't we? I knew right away that it had been a snake, it had been sent after you Ciel but Phelp's had gotten in the way."

"It was a quick deduction Eloise" Sebastian said, "You knew what it was just as fast as I did, so our unexpected and uninvited guest was here all along."

"What?"

There were simultaneous yells from Ciel, Eloise and Dagger.

Sebastian reached under the table that Ciel was sitting at and pulled out a large wooden crate, bound tightly by chains and locked by numerous padlocks. "Since it was a bit sudden" Sebastian explained pulling it out, "I had him taken to 'this' luxury suite."

"So the actual killer is in there?" Eloise pointed at the crate, her eyes a wide with fear, "You aren't going to let him out are you?" she yelped when Sebastian made the move to undo the chain around it.

"Show me what's inside" Ciel demanded and Sebastian followed his Master orders and began to inch off the wooden lid.

There was a scream from Eloise when two snakes suddenly burst from the crate, they both lunged for Ciel, but Sebastian was at the ready and he deftly caught them, their fangs millimeters from Ciel's face.

Ciel was stricken and he sat back in his chair trembling, "What?" he managed to choke out, "They seem to be extremely resentful towards the Young Master you see?" Sebastian lightly chuckled "That's why I hesitated before you demanded me to open the crate."

However, whilst the Butler and the Earl spoke, a figure rose out of the crate with wobbly legs and Dagger almost knocked Eloise off her feet with the power behind his nudge. "Look" he yelled.

Both Cirques froze at the sight before them before there was a happy cry from Eloise.

"Snake! You're alive!"


	21. Lies

**Yeahhh... :/ I have like five months to get a wiggle on with all my stories otherwise my then hectic life will mean no more Fanfiction for a while. So I'm going to have to hurry up and stop dallying around with every story I have.**

**I have changed some things around and yadda yadda. I think I got all the mistakes out of these chapters but I cant be a 100% certain. **

**How weird is the Kuroshitsuji Manga at the moment 0.o, I wish it ends soon, I haven't enjoyed this arc as much as I enjoyed the others. Come on Ciel, putting laxatives in a pie to win a Cricket Game? That's low, even for you. **

**Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

><p>She didn't make an effort to go see her old Cirque friend though.<p>

He sat there on the concrete tied and handcuffed, with his snakes coiling around him. His slitted eyes regarded Eloise and Dagger with mild shock and Eloise smiled sweetly at Sebastian.

"Snakes are not my forte" she chuckled, avoiding the slithering bodies, "I will leave that up to you. Since you're an _expert_."

Sebastian gave her a coy glance and Dagger announced with shock, "How did you end up here Snake, we lost all track of you and thought that you went away with the rest of the Circus."

"Well now that you mention it" Eloise said, putting her fingers over her mouth in a calculating way, "You didn't go with Joker or the rest of us when we came here. What did you do Snake? I had a thought that you abandoned us and left us to die."

Snake looked almost offended at her remark, his mouth twisting under the cloth that had been tied around his lower half of his head.

"Don't say that" Dagger said disapprovingly at her, "Do you know how rude that just sounded?"

"This was Mr Phelp's true murderer" Sebastian said, holding the snake by the head and showing Eloise and Dagger it, "I was in the Kitchen preparing the next day's meals" Sebastian explained, "I knew something was out there, I could hear it. So I went out to find who it was."

He dropped the snake back around the silver haired Cirque who gave narrowed eyes to Dagger and Eloise as to why they weren't attacking.

"I came across Mr Phelp's, he had already been bitten at that stage and there was nothing I could do to help him, the noises were coming from the Greenhouse so I left the Young Masters room to see who it was."

"So hold on." Eloise held out her hands and silenced the Butler with a stern violet gaze, "You _left _Mr Phelp's probably frothing at the mouth and writhing in pain and let him _die_?"

Sebastian nodded, seemingly unhindered as he brushed off her comment and continued with his own story, "I was surrounded by snakes the minute I came in, very well trained snakes and they bit up and down my legs. That's when I saw our friend here, hiding out in the greenery. He wondered why I hadn't fallen from his snakes and I could only laugh. What sort of Phantomhive Butler would I be?"

Eloise rolled her eyes, "Don't start with nonsense again Sebastian, I cringe every time you say that damned _line_."

Ciel got up from his chair and went up to Snake, despite his slimy friends surrounding him. He took off the rag from his mouth and asked nonchalantly, "Why are you here?"

Snake started to talk furiously to Ciel, his voice rough and hoarse, "The day after Black and Smile snuck into Joker's and everyone else's tents, they disappeared! It was your fault…says Wilde."

"Jeez here we go" Dagger muttered with a roll of the eyes.

"That's why I followed Smile from the scent on his clothes…says Oscar." Snake explained angrily, "I had ended up at the Estate where I was held up by a man that declared himself a Prince and all I had to do was wait for him to put me on a Carriage and sent me right here…says Keats."

"The Greenhouse was the perfect temperature for us…says Keats." Snake continued but he stopped when he saw Sebastian and Ciel smack their foreheads with a sweat drop on their foreheads.

"Those idiots" Ciel muttered.

"Not even we could have predicted this," Sebastian said irritably.

"Who sent him here?" Eloise questioned, "Have I met them before?"

"No" Ciel said darkly, "And you won't meet them either, Sohma is an Indian Prince whom we met a Curry Competition before we came onto your case. He is staying at the house in London…"

He shook his head before turning his attention back to Snake, "You mentioned before that their disappearance was our fault?"

"That's right!" Snake shouted, "After you guys showed up, they started acting weird…says Wordsworth" he grit his teeth and lowered his head to the ground, "Why did I get the feeling that they were hiding something from me? Despite my appearance, those guys called me their friend…called me their family."

His fluorescent green eyes locked with Eloise and Dagger, "How you got them to work with you, I don't know…but if you are holding them against their will…he bared his fangs, you took _everything away from me_! I won't forgive you!…says Wilde."

Ciel closed his eyes and said rather coldly to the livid Snake, "The Circus Group you were in, kidnapped children one by one in the places you visited on tour. We became your companions in order to find evidence!"

Dagger stiffened beside Eloise and Snake looked mortified, "They were kidnappers? Th…That's a lie! Don't talk rubbish…says Oscar!" he shouted.

"My identity was found out before I gathered the evidence" Ciel added coolly "I may have taken the peace from you, but I wanted to save the children that were made to suffer because of them."

With a choked sob, Dagger escaped to the doors of the Greenhouse, Eloise debated whether or not to run out after him, but Ciel didn't look like he was about to stop with the onslaught to Snake, but what he said shocked all three of them.

"Of course I wanted to save you too!"

He reached forward and Snake recoiled back in terror, "What is this?" he retorted only to stop when Ciel undid his rope and let him free, "Snake…" he said, "Come with me to my Mansion."

Dagger froze, mid-way of wrenching the door open to the outside and Eloise stepped back as Snake tried to crawl backwards away from the approaching Earl.

"Wha..What are you saying?...Says Keats!" he exclaimed and Ciel came closer and closer, "You heard me right; I said I wanted to save you. We are looking for Joker and the others right now, of course to clear up the incident. So don't you think that staying here would be the fastest way to seeing them again?"

Ciel sounded so coy that it made Eloise shiver, which was because she knew he was lying.

"_Liar_" Dagger hissed, his hand trembling on the door handle, _"Such a liar_." He wrenched open the door then and started to run down the path, Eloise went to run after him, after sending a glance over her shoulder to see Sebastian giving her a pointed look.

She stayed long enough to hear Ciel's last words, "I know they're not bad people from living at the Circus, they're kind and cheerful to everybody and that's why they should atone for their crimes, I'd like for them to achieve true happiness. All of them."

* * *

><p>Ciel walked through the Gardens after Snake had gone inside of the house to find Eloise and Dagger. Sebastian walked behind him diligently and Ciel knew that he was going to ask the question at any moment.<p>

So he finally spoke with a sigh, "If you stick to a '_lie_', it'll eventually become '_truth_.' Then, I just need you to hold your tongue and everything will go well."

"Indeed" Sebastian smirked at his Lord, "Didn't you see the look Miss Eloise gave you Young Master, why lie when the other's know what really happened?"

"Well keep an eye on Mr McKinley" Ciel added in a steely voice, "Eloise knows better to keep her mouth shut. I can trust her not to say anything."

They walked again in silence before Ciel spoke up again, "What are you going to tell the Servants?"

"Oh…" Sebastian said thoughtfully, "That's right…"

* * *

><p>Eloise rolled her eyes in disgust as she saw the 'corpse' of Sebastian in a coffin filled with pure white roses.<p>

The Prince Sohma, Ciel had promised that Eloise that she would never meet, _wished _that she never such a loud, pompous idiot.

And she_ wasn't in the mood for crap today_.

Sohma, his servant Agni, the Servants, Ciel and Elizabeth were there as Eloise and Dagger stood back from the concession with their arms folded across their chests.

Lizzie threw herself at Ciel with tears pouring down her face as Sebastian was laid down to rest and yelled, "Sebastian is a liar!" she cried, "He's so cruel, promising he would never leave Ciel by himself."

As she hugged his side, Sohma leant over and hugged Ciel's head, "Don't cry Ciel" he bawled, "We'll be with you forever!"

"Forever and Ever!" Lizzie wailed dramatically.

Everybody was in tears and Eloise snorted, "Please! How Ciel isn't cracking a smile has me wondering."

"How can he do it?" Dagger muttered absently, "I envy him."

As Ciel assured everyone and encouraged them to come back to the Mansion, a grave ringer attached to the tombstone above Sebastian's grave began to chime.

Finni spun around with a horrified look on his face, "The Bell on the Grave is ringing," he said in disbelief, "There isn't any wind!"

_That means he's still alive!_

"DIG HIM UP!" Finni shouted, running to the soil and digging it up frantically with his fingers, Bard, Mey-Rin, Agni and even Elizabeth helped dig up the dirt and as they reached the coffin, Finni broke the lid off with tremendous strength and threw it halfway across the terrace.

Finally, Sebastian sat up rubbing the back of his head, "I finally got out of there," he muttered. He sat back with horror as everybody flung themselves towards him full of bawling eyes and snotty noses.

Eloise chuckled as Sebastian quickly disappeared among legs and arms.

"_Wahhhhhh" _came Finni's wail.

"_You Bastard! I thought I'd lost another comrade!" _Bard shouted.

"_Misder Sebwasdian" _Mey-Rin blubbered, _"I'm zoo Glaaaddd_!"

Sohma rubbed his teary eyes ecstatically and Agni clapped his hands together in happiness, "It's a miracle" he cawed exasperatedly, "Oh I'm so _grateful_."

"Well he deserves what he gets" Dagger said quietly, "I wish I had a big blubber fest surrounded by the ones that loved me."

"I stayed with you the whole time you were in a coma!" Eloise sniffed indignantly.

"And you disappeared for three days the day I woke up!" Dagger shot back, "But I can't complain, at least I had somebody with me."

"Same here" Eloise agreed, her violet eyes going back to Sebastian trying to push everybody off him so he could stand up, "Just imagine the ones who don't have anybody? I pity them…"

The Cirques turned towards the Mansion, Eloise sending one last glance over her shoulder at Sebastian and Ciel before turning back and walking down the path as the sun shone down above them.

* * *

><p>"And that will be all concerning your duties for today, however…"<p>

Eloise leant against the bench, emitting a cat-like yawn and scratching the back of her head tiredly, Dagger picked the dirt from underneath his fingernails with a knife looking bored as Sebastian finally said, "There is one last thing you need to know…"

Five bored glances looked up at him and Sebastian got a tick mark, "There will be an increase in servants at the Mansion.

Eloise and Dagger were the only ones that didn't look excited at the 'big' news.

The Butler turned towards the door, "Please enter."

The doors to the kitchen opened and snakes came piling in, earning shrieks from Mey- Rin as she jumped up onto the counter beside Eloise.

"Please calm down" Sebastian said irritably, "They won't bite unless he orders them to."

"He?"

Snake peeked around the door, looking genuinely nervous as he gazed at everyone in the kitchen. He hid back behind the wood and Sebastian stepped behind him, slapped him clean on the back, and ordered, "Straighten Up! Introduce yourself nice and clear! Since you're here, you have to obey our rules."

"I..I'm Snake" he stammered, "N-Nice to meet you…says Oscar."

Finni cocked his head to the side, "Oscar? But that's…" he turned to look back at Dagger before Snake interjected, "I named the Snake after Dagger, so he's Oscar as well…says Oscar."

He pointed to the snakes that now were all around the kitchen, "That one is Emily, next to her is Bronte and that one over there is Wordsworth." He went to go point out the others but Sebastian clapped his hands, "We'll talk about those servants at another time, it's getting dark. Anyway, he'll be a footman in this house hold from now on. Please work together."

…

Eloise swept the floor as Bard and Sebastian prepared food, Dagger played darts at the back of the door as Finni and Mey-Rin crooned over Snake sitting on a barrel peeling potatoes.

Bard kept looking suspiciously over his shoulder at the newcomer and as Eloise came over and stood next to Sebastian, heard him mutter, "Are you for real about hiring some shady guy like this?"

Sebastian slapped a full fish on the cutting board and picked up a large carving knife; "No matter who he is," he said dismissively, If the young Master had made the decision, I will simply obey, also…"

He sent a glance to Eloise then back to Bard, "Couldn't I say the same thing about you? Or Miss Eloise or Mr McKinley?" he shook his head and steadied the knife over the fish, "I don't care who he is, however if he bares his teeth at our Master then…"

With some force behind the knife, Sebastian made it perfectly clear; slamming the knife down and cutting the head off the fish in one clean slice.

* * *

><p>Snake had been part of her family, a part of the Circus that she had loved so dearly.<p>

So then, why did she feel so awkward with him when they were the only ones left in the kitchen as Dinner was prepared.

"I didn't expect to find you here Trickster…says Wordsworth" Snake said quietly staring down at the floor. His silver bangs hanging in his face, "Or Dagger either…"

Eloise knew that this conversation was going to come the minute she saw him hog tied in the Greenhouse. But when he had said her old stage name, Eloise felt her heart clench sadly at the painful reminder.

"I'm not called Trickster anymore" she said quietly, "I go by Eloise now, Dagger and I have been here a while. Ciel took us in when everybody…disappeared and we have been living here ever since, we owe him a lot."

"Why can you get away with calling him his first name…says Oscar?" came the quiet response, Eloise bit the inside of her cheek and gazed over the top of Snake's head, "Ciel and I have a…'unique' relationship. It's something I can't really explain, but we look out for each other. A lot of things happen around here Snake, _you _being the latest person to come to the Manor and…" she felt the irritation building up inside her, but she bit her tongue. "Never mind, what's done is done and I am not going to hold you responsible."

She turned to the sink and tried to preoccupy herself with throwing the dishes into the basin and pouring water on them, "Dagger and I live here and we are part of this House, You're going to have to accept it Snake. Ciel may seem cold, but he is actually a caring person that would go out of his way to help people."

"You wouldn't go out and find Joker?...says Emily" Snake asked, his slitted eyes boring holes in the back of Eloise's skull, "You won't go out and help find our family?...says Wordsworth?"

"I'm going to wait it out" Eloise said through grit teeth, scrubbing the preparation tools with vigour. "There's nothing for me to do. I can't go out and expect to travel to find people, I'm safe here and I promised myself I would do something."

She shut her mouth then and didn't say anymore, Snake got the hint and quietened down as well. That was until the silence was broken after a few minutes when the door opened and Dagger came in.

It only took a glance and a feel of the tense atmosphere around them that a conversation was had that was not wanted.

And Eloise was cleaning…so it was a surprise.

"Well" Dagger sighed, running a hand through his messy hair, "I hope that we get some degree of silence from here on out, I think I just want to go to bed and stay there for a couple of days."

"You know this house" Eloise gave him a grim smile, "Its not going to stay quiet for very long, I'm already starting to get a feeling that something is going to go very wrong. Call it habit or instinct, I don't know."

Dagger grabbed a dish cloth and began to dry the items Eloise had washed, "Call it a bit of both" he chuckled, "I'm only askin' for a few days. A week at max, it would give us all some down time."

The two worked in unison, both feeling the look that Snake was giving them. It was silent for a couple of minutes again before Dagger looked to Eloise, "Do you want to go to London and do something tomorrow?"

Eloise was taken aback at the sudden question, "W-Why would you ask that for? What are we going to do in London?"

Dagger shrugged, "Well, that Sohma and Agni are going back. We can have a trip there and come back with the carriage. It would be fun."

"That's a stupid idea" Eloise seethed, "Ciel wont trust us going there, he will send someone with us or come with us himself! Last time I was in London Dagger, I was lured away by a person that looked like Joker and made girls into _dolls_."

She looked back down to the sink, "We don't have money to pay people either."

Dagger looked confused at her words, "You can pay people with _money_? When did that become customary?"

"It was always the right thing to do" Eloise muttered, "We were thieves and stole off people, that's why we were always looked down upon."

"Something has changed about you two…says Wordsworth" Snake quietly interjected, "You were never like this…says Bronte."

Eloise clamped her mouth shut and turned back to the dishes and Dagger wiped clean a dish and slowly put it on the bench, a smirk on his face. "You could say something has changed," he muttered, "Changed because we are no longer in the Circus and forced to do the things that 'Father' wanted us to.

"So it was true?...says Wordsworth" Snake asked, "The kidnappings that happened was because of the Circus?...says Emily."

"We aren't allowed to talk about it" Eloise stated coolly, stopping in her cleaning and making her way back to the kitchen doors, "Whether you like it or Snake, you will be bound to this Manor and then you will be able to see why we changed."

She opened the door, "I didn't want to believe it myself at first, but…things change."

She left the kitchen and went out into the hallway; Dagger sent a salute in Snakes direction before following Eloise out, leaving the newly appointed 'Footman' alone in the kitchen.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: One of my sisters name is Bronte... She was named after a well-known and a tourist favourite Beach in Sydney. o.0**


	22. The Abbey

It started with that morning.

"DAGGER! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU?!"

Sebastian sighed as he poured over the breakfast menu for the Earl, a tick mark already visible on his forehead.

Behind the Butler?

Eloise smacked Dagger on the head and jumped away as Dagger sniggered and held out a wiggling moue he had found running around the kitchen.

"What?" he taunted "I thought you liked mice Ellie? Why are you prancing away like that? Cats love to _eat _mice!"

"Get tha' thing outta here!" Bard shouted "It look's bad on me ya moron. Then yer shovin' it in Eloise's face! Its gunna wreck me kitchen!"

"Give it to me!" Snake insisted, "…says Wordswoth!"

Eloise frowned at Dagger who held the mouse by its tail as it squeaked in protest. "I might keep it" he taunted "Call it Squeaky and..." he jumped away and laughed as Eloise went to go hit him again "Just wait till I get my hands you, you little cretin" she growled, "There will be HELL to pay Dagger!"

She slammed down the spoon she had on the kitchen bench and dashed around after Dagger. The Cirque stumbled back against the table and lost his balance as Eloise went to make a grab for him. The mouse went flying and hit the stone floor and made a mad dash for the first safe spot.

"Whoops" Dagger said, he gazed around before grabbing a knife from the counter before hurling it and skewering the mouse to the wall.

"Ew!" Eloise shrieked as Dagger launched over the table and picked up the knife with the now dead mouse on it. He held it out towards Bard "Here!" he cackled, "Cook that up and give to Finni or Ciel or someone. It'd be hilarious."

"I think not" Sebastian frowned "How degrading to one's character. Eloise... did he always act like this?"

Eloise sighed to the Butler "Unfortunately, this is where he likes to act like a child. Without Doll or Joker, he's going to make up for the missing pain in the necks and be a bigger one."

She dashed towards Sebastian and hid behind him as Dagger came back over and waved the mouse in her face "Have a bite Ellie, go on, it's still warm!"

Eloise peeked out from over Sebastian's arm, "No" she said darkly "Sebastian, make him go _away_. Dagger shouldn't be allowed in the kitchen. Send him to the Garden or _something_!"

Dagger continued to wave the mouse around until there was a slight breeze and then Dagger's outstretched hand was empty. He blinked at his empty fist dumbstruck for a moment before looking up and watched Sebastian put the whole knife, mouse and all in the garbage incinerator.

"You should have just given it to Snake" Eloise muttered, "His snakes should be stopping these kind of things."

Her violet eyes sought out Snake who quickly ducked his head in embarrassment before she looked back up to Sebastian.

He pointed to the door "Out!"

Dagger pouted "If you're gunna send me out of the kitchen, it won't stop me from causing havoc somewhere else."

"Maybe you will be better off in the Gardens" Sebastian sighed "If you're not going to be cooperative."

Out in the hallway, the kitchen door opened and Sebastian's hand came out and dumped Dagger on the floor. The door slammed shut again and Dagger shouted to the door "Don't think this is going to stop me! I get you one way or another... including you Black! Prissy sonnuva-..."

"GO AWAY DAGGER" Eloise's voice shouted out "Get outside in the Gardens before I kick your butt out there!"

* * *

><p>Eloise gathered the plates off the table and went back to the kitchens so she could wash them after Ciel had eaten breakfast. She was humming under her breath and when she got all she could carry, she made her way back to the kitchens.<p>

The doors were slightly closed when she reached them, she turned around and pushed it open with her back and strode in.

The kitchens were empty and Eloise sat the plates down on the counter and noticed several letters that belonged to Sebastian.

_'That's not like him.' _Eloise thought picking them up. "They could be Ciel's."

She picked the envelopes up, walked from the kitchen and managed to track the Earl and his Butler down.

They were in the office and Eloise didn't even bother knocking. She opened the door while beginning to say: "Sebastian, you forgo-..."

A sharp tingle rushed down her spine when she was greeted by the sight of Ciel's and Sebastian's backs whilst sitting on a small stool with Tanaka, was a man with wild white hair holding a steaming cup of tea.

She froze to the spot, the man's violet eyes slid over to her, and she took a step back, her own violet eyes wide with shock. She felt uneasy and the need to be sick engulfed her.

"Miss Eloise, is everything alright?" Sebastian asked, for once, the smirk wiped clear off his face as his eyes narrowed.

Eloise only held out the envelopes to the Butler and the man stood up and smiled to her "Now who is this lovely young lady?" he asked and Ciel said sharply "My Maid, this is Eloise." He gestured to the man "Eloise this is the Queen's …Butler Ashe."

"Uh-err it's nice to meet you" Eloise wheezed before stepping back against the door "I-I have chores to do." She made a dash out the door and back down the hallways and stairs and towards the kitchens.

_'There's something wrong with that man' _her mind whispered _'Can't figure that out just yet. Just by looking at him made me sick!'_

She got the kitchen and slammed the door with a loud resounding 'bang.' She slid down the back of the door _'This isn't going to be good. I thought Grey… Jeez, it's happening again already!"_

…

"There is a job that needs to be done" Ciel said coolly to Eloise as he sat at his desk later on that morning. "I have to eliminate a Cult that has appeared in an old Catholic Abbey just out of Preston, you are going-..."

"I'm not going" Eloise said hastily "Leave me out of this one."

Sebastian quirked his eyebrow and Eloise added on "I don't like stepping into Holy Ground, even if it is a Cult. So-...something always goes wrong."

She turned her head away, "I'm sorry, but I can't..."

"Is that so?" Ciel said in his cold voice, "Eloise doesn't want to accompany us on a simple elimination job Sebastian? Should we _force _her?"

Eloise blanched at the word 'forced' and she grit her teeth together as heard Sebastian chuckle "It's up to you Young Master; You can order me to hog-tie her and drag her along behind us if you please."

The door to the office opened before Eloise could bite back her remark, Dagger emerged looking dirty with small flowers and leaves decorating his hair with looked slightly singed.

"You never said that 'blasted' _Dog _could breathe fire!" he shouted accusingly to Sebastian, "Its yer damn fault for putting me out with that crazy Gardener!"

Eloise now knew what Ciel had meant by force.

She looked to her brother in frantic worry as Ciel folded his hands together under his chin and leant on the desk.

"How would you like to come out on a little trip with us Dagger?"

The Ex-Cirque was instantly on the caution. "What are you going to do with me? I still don't trust you."

Ciel sighed, "Whilst you are living in my Manor, you will address me properly. As I was saying before... We have a job request by the Queen and I would not mind your contribution Mr McKinley."

"Sure" Dagger agreed casually "I'll come along, but now that I'm better, don't try any funny things with me, otherwise I will attack _again_."

Eloise smacked her forehead "Dagger!" she groaned, "It was a trap to get me to come along..." her brother looked to her with his large green eyes "Why weren't you coming Ellie? It's getting us out of the Manor. Come on, it'll be fun!"

She rolled her eyes and sent a seething glance to Sebastian, "You knew I wouldn't have really worried about Snake, but…I _can't believe you_!"

She waved her hand dismissively, "This will be the end of me. I think I'd rather be Snake at the moment, then I _can _stay home!"

* * *

><p>"Fun?!" Eloise snapped to Dagger as they got out to the street of London.<p>

"You said 'Fun' Dagger, does this look like _'Fun' _to you?"

Ciel, Sebastian, Eloise and Dagger looked up to eerie building with the large board which read

**Undertaker**

"This is where dead people go" Eloise snapped "Where they get prettied up before they get buried! _Dead _people Dagger."

Dagger only shrugged his shoulders "I'm sorry Ellie, I didn't know that we were coming here, c'mon look on the bright side and..."

"_I can't" _Eloise sighed as Ciel strode forward and pushed open the door with the demanding words 'I'm coming in.'

They were greeted by blackness and Eloise could see the shudder run up Dagger's frame as he lurched to her and grabbed hold of her arm.

She caught sight of a man clad in black and Eloise hissed to Sebastian "How come Ciel knows all _weirdos_?" Sebastian chuckled before they looked back to the Undertaker. "Welcome little Lord" he cackled

"Listen Undertaker, I have something to ask of you" Ciel said and the figure drawled "In that case."

Green eyes flashed and he suddenly lurched forward and Eloise recognised the face as the black clad figure dashed towards Sebastian.

There was a small giggle.

Red hair flowed out as the hat toppled off and the words _'I can receive all the sweet love sweet Bassy can offer' _rung around the dim lit room.

Sebastian deftly stepped to the side, Eloise dragging Dagger back with a small cry.

Grell hit the wall with a loud cry.

"Wait Grell?" Ciel asked surprised looking towards Sebastian and back to the Grell.

Eloise looked him up and down and Dagger leant forward and asked quietly "Is it a man or a woman?" his face was devoid of any amusement and he was clearly serious about this question. However, Eloise didn't even know herself whether Grell was male or female. So she whispered back to her companion "I'm taking a wild guess that it's a man, which clearly defies laws of our modern day and age."

"I thought men weren't supposed to dress like a lady? It's..." he grimaced "different."

Ciel looked around the room "Where's Undertaker?"

"Hello my Lord" a slow drawl came out.

Ciel and Sebastian walked over to a large barrel and Ciel exclaimed incredulously "What are you doing in there?!"

Grell stepped up beside Eloise and Dagger and folded his arms across his chest "The Bounder said he wasn't afraid of Grim Reapers so I buried him in salt" he sniffed. The Undertaker let a grin stretch across his face "Yes he did" he said "All the moisture in my body is being sucked out of my body as we speak. It's a great feeling!"

Eloise grimaced as Sebastian held a handkerchief "You don't say" he muttered and Dagger simply looked around the room in disdain "This place is weird" he retorted, "Ugh, can we leave?"

Ciel spun around to the crowd gathered behind him and shot to Grell, who unfolded his arms and smiled wickedly at him. "What are you doing here?"

Grell only chuckled "Will gave me a job to investigate that's all, But I couldn't find any information, it was getting late...and I was tired. So I lay down in a field of flowers, the next thing I know, I'm waking up here in this shop."

He clamped his hands together "I should be more careful in the future and not to stop breathing when I sleep, but I was waiting for a certain Prince to come along and revive me with his kiss." He sent a swooning glance up to Sebastian and puckered his lips.

Dagger snorted "A little on the dopey side?" he whispered to Eloise, who nodded in agreement. Ciel pinched the bridge of his nose and went to Eloise's side as Sebastian said with an unamused expression on his face "So what are you investigating?"

"Oh nothing much" Grell said dismissively "It's the Grim Reaper's store of cinematic records, some of them have been stolen." He sent a smouldering glare up to the Butler and that caught every-bodies attention, even Eloise's.

"Cinematic records?" Ciel asked, sending each of them a glance "What are they?" he questioned and Grell looked away "Something that kid doesn't need to know" he retorted. Eloise sent a brief glance to Sebastian who explained "They are reels of film containing all memories of somebodies lifetime. Grim Reapers extract them from the to-die list and they decide where the person goes from there."

"That's usually the case" Grell smiled flicking his hair "But you humans should be aware that you can only see them when you die."

That's when Dagger intervened "Hang on" he frowned "So you said you were a Grim Reaper? So you kill people and all that... So where's your massive scythe? Don't you guys have huge sickles and..."

"Dagger" Eloise muttered, "It isn't exactly like that, I don't think..."

"Well hello" Grell said, when his unnatural green eyes locked with Dagger's "I don't believe we have met? Where did you come from?"

Eloise frowned, grabbing Dagger's arm and yanking him to her "That's none of your business" she seethed "Keep your eyes off him."

Grell chuckled "You're the little Missy from the Tower that was controlled like a Puppet? I see you accompany the Brat and Bassy... and getting jealous because I'm hitting on your Man."

"No!" Eloise snapped, her face reddening by the second "I'm not jealous at all…and Dagger isn't my 'Man'!"

Dagger sent her a crude glare before his own face went red and he looked away scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Whatever you say" Grell chuckled, an underlying tone of seemed like mocking "You know how to pick them, don't you?"

Eloise folded her arms across her chest and refused to look back at Dagger and Sebastian took that as a cue to ask a question and take Grell's attention away from the Circus Pair.

"And this records? How exactly were they allowed to be stolen?" he asked the Reaper and Grell sighed "Well you see, they're stored in the library when we aren't using them, good and evil the full past of everyone who is destined to die, all of their lives are stored there in the form of books."

Ciel looked up to him "So they're books written in preparations for one's death?" Sebastian nodded "This is something you heard of before isn't it?"

Eloise looked back to Ciel as the Earl stood back over the barrel where the Undertaker was currently stuck in. His long tongue came out and licked some of the salt around his head. Ciel didn't seem amused.

"Undertaker" he said "There is something I need your help with."

The Undertaker laughed ominously "Well then, you do know the price for that" he rasped before he looked up and caught sight of the crowd around the barrel. Then he seemed to change his mind.

"Oh well on second thought I'll do it for free."

"Why the sudden change of mind?" Dagger asked Sebastian "What does he usually charge?" Sebastian looked to the Cirques "His price is to make him laugh, as of far, I have been the only one to make him laugh. But he is a valuable asset in the Young Master's arsenal of information gathering."

* * *

><p>"I don't like this idea" Eloise said uneasily.<p>

She hid in the back of the carriage along with Grell, Sebastian and Ciel. Dagger sitting on top with the Undertaker.

"It's making me feel a little ill" she grumbled before looking to Sebastian "Why isn't it affecting you?"

Sebastian smirked "I have nothing to be worried about."

"Or you?" she hissed to Grell "You're a Shinigami are you not, it's because of you that we have to come here!"

"First off I'm a Grim Reaper" Grell seethed "there is a difference...Secondly, you are not in charge of this. Dear old Bassy is."

He swooned to Sebastian and Eloise rolled her eyes in disgust and looked away "I'm not going to like what will happen here" she grumbled, "I can feel it already."

"Why whatever is the matter Eloise" Sebastian said, his red eyes flashing, "You haven't been yourself ever since the Curry Competition? Is everything..._alright_?"

"Shut it Demon" Eloise snapped "I didn't want to be brought along on this silly expedition. If you didn't convince Dagger in going, I would have stayed home!"

"Enough!" Ciel snapped "Stop arguing you two! You have both gotten worse ever since the Curry Competition." He looked through the cracks in the wood and Dagger leant back and whispered "The Abbey is coming up guys. Get ready."

"Well maybe it doesn't help that we are all piled together in a _coffin_" Eloise growled "Come on, we have to get ready to jump out."

On cue the carriage stopped and Dagger's cheery voice echoed out "Greetings good Sir, we come delivering your coffins."

The carriage rocked slightly and the Undertaker's voice came out, "I believe I have them around here" there were the jingling of items being tossed to the ground and Sebastian whispered, "Let's go."

All three jumped from the Coffins on the back of the carriage and into the bushes that were beside the entrance to the Holy Abbey and Sebastian picked up a branch and held it in front of his face. "Real smart" Eloise hissed.

The Monk that had answered the Gates only smiled "Do not worry, you both can come in. Including your friends over there."

"He's good" Grell whispered as Sebastian took the branch away from his face. Eloise froze and Ciel sighed.

Dagger jumped down from the carriage and the Undertaker cackled "My work here is done." He went back to the carriage and climbed back on it.

Eloise and the others pulled themselves from the shrubbery and the Monk had a pleasant smile on his face as he let them inside the Abbey.

Eloise was instantly overcome by anxiety as she stepped foot inside the Abbey, her stomach clenched and her hands began to sweat. Sebastian the bastard seemed unhindered as he strode beside Ciel.

"Are you alright Ellie?" Dagger asked, "You seem really nervous? Is something wrong?" his green eyes narrowed in concern and he slowed down to walk beside her and Eloise nodded "I'm fine, I just really don't want to be here. Why I had to be dragged along...?"

Dagger smiled "We're helping the 'thing'" he jerked his thumb in Grell's direction "Get his books back. Sounds easy, just because these are Lord, loving lunatics doesn't mean you can be afraid of them. Aren't they supposed to be really gentle?"

"So ignorant" Eloise managed a tiny smile, "Just keep believing that Dagger, I can't taint your pure, childish mind."

They walked down the path until they reached a large Monastery and again Eloise hesitated. Everybody walked in, Sebastian seemingly unhindered and as Dagger walked inside the arch of the door, he turned around with a questioning glance "What the matter? You still scared?" Eloise shook her head, feeling cold sweat break out on her forehead. Dagger only shook his head, he went up to her, grasped her hand and pulled her in. "We can't get lost" he muttered, "They won't wait for us."

They walked past the large stonewalls and Eloise saw the large church and the pews all lined out.

She saw all the holy figures on stained, coloured glass and felt like she was going to pass out from anxiety. She saw Ciel look up to the light to where there was a symbol stained on the glass covering.

He stepped back with a gasp and Eloise felt dread fill her, recognising the symbol. Sebastian strode forward and murmured in Ciel's ear before they were interrupted by laughing.

Through the opposite end of the church, three children came in running and laughing. Large smiles plastered on their face.

"Good evening" they chorused together, "Another gorgeous day today wasn't it?" one asked looking up at Eloise. She stepped back with a disconcerted smile "Err yeah" she said weakly "Lovely weather wasn't it?"

She heard Grell laugh in the background "Oh look" he taunted, "Aren't they just the _cutest _things?" The way Grell said it... Made him sound more like a pervert.

The kids went running up to him, "Hello unclean one" one beamed up at him "I can see every bit of your impurity" he stated matter-of-factly.

Grell looked outraged "What?"

"What is the matter?" another child asked "Is something bothering you unclean one? Are you not feeling well?"

Grell's face twisted in rage, his fist clenched and there was nothing that could be done as the Grim Reaper raised his fist and brought it down onto the child's head with a loud 'thunk.'

"You brat" Grell growled, "What right do you have telling me that I'm unclean?" his face stayed the same as the child howled, "An unclean one touched me!"

His companions went running out with the frantic words "We have to be cleansed!" Grell went to go run after them but they stopped when the kids passed a sweet, looking Nun.

She watched them leave and when she caught sight of everybody in the Church she smiled and apologised "I'm sorry about that, when they reach a certain age, they consider everybody unclean" she looked back to where the kids had disappeared before looking back and stating "I can see from your clothing, you're a new convert? Don't worry, if you study the teachings of our Leader then you

too will be cleansed."

"What! How dare you" Ciel said furiously he stepped forward and Eloise cried out "Ciel, stop...please."

At the panicked tone in her voice, Ciel paused and Sebastian held out his arms to stop him. Sebastian looked back to the Nun. "Unclean?" he asked "What a bizarre thing to say, I can't believe a beautiful young lady as you is impure."

He walked up to the young Nun and she drew back watching him. She blushed as he approached her. "You really don't know the practises of your religion yet, would you be so kind to tell us more about yourself?"

"Y-Yes" she stammered, hiding her mouth behind her long sleeve "B-But what are you doing here?" Sebastian slammed his hand on the wall beside the young woman. She gasped and gazed up at him with fearful green eyes.

Sebastian leant down close to her face and whispered seductively to her, _'There was a bug_.' He drew back and opened up his hand and indeed reveal a flattened bug before blowing it away. He looked back to the Nun with a sickeningly _Sebastian-like _smile before saying in a hushed voice "You will tell me everything that I need to know won't you?"

The Nun was trembling, with the blush as red as an apple before nodding. Sebastian took that as an invitation to take her hand and tenderly kiss it, before whispering, "Now where shall we go?"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe him!" Eloise said furiously, looking at the small barn where Sebastian had led the young Nun "I know Sebastian is a stuck up, pompous, know it all, but even I thought he had standards and wouldn't stoop down to this level."<p>

Her brows knitted into a frown as she heard more crying from the barn and Dagger pumped his fists up into the air, red still staining his cheeks but he cried nonetheless "At least somebody is getting lucky, I don't know why you would be upset Ellie."

"It's undignified" Eloise snapped, "You shouldn't violate a young woman like that! Being in a Religion like this would have meant that she was a... *Realisation* "He's a sick, twisted Demon you know that?" she dead-panned to Ciel.

The Earl stood back against the pole, outside on the path with his arms folded as Grell seethed and shook in anger.

"I've never known him to use this approach" he admitted to Eloise "There _could _have been other ways. Maybe you should ask him when he comes out?"

"No way!" Eloise cried indignantly "I'm appalled at him."

"Men will be men," Dagger said, unintentionally coming to Sebastian's defence "Can't blame him for getting some tail on the side. Come on Ellie, you never complained when we made stops on the side when we were in the Circus."

"That's because I was with Joker" Eloise snapped "I didn't care about anybody else, I just kept to my own business. All you male Cirques were rascals anyway, it was to be expected. Not from a _Butler_."

Grell listened to another cry from the barn before blowing the lid, "That's it" he shouted, pulling a small book from the pockets of his scarlet cloak "I'm going to put this wench on the To-Die list... she's _done_!"

"Calm down...all of you" Ciel scolded, "We just have to wait until he's...finished."

Despite trying to act like the cool, emotionless one, Eloise could still see the slight blush on the Young Earls face.

"He's pretty good," Dagger murmured once the girls cried silenced and the night air was silenced again "How do you think she's feeling after _that_?"

"Shut up Dagger" Eloise looked to her brother "Don't say things like that...besides, Grell is already ready to kill her."

He nodded her head in Grell's general direction and sure enough, the Grim Reaper was still shaking in jealousy and anger.

She stopped talking when she heard the barns door squeak open and Sebastian stood at the door, fully dressed. He gestured them in and Ciel pushed off the pole and said to the three accompanying him "Let's go you three; we'll see what Sebastian found out."

The Nun was just getting her shirt back on when everybody walked into the barn. Grell's fists clenched and both Ciel and Eloise looked away in horror as Dagger's eyes bulged. "Whoa!" he said to Sebastian "You know how to get em' don't ya?"

He grinned maliciously and Eloise clipped him over the ear, "I know it's hard for you, but try and be a Gentleman. Give a girl her privacy."

They walked over to the pile of hay where the Nun was situated and she began to comb her hair with her fingers.

"The Doomsday Books of those who live a long life are impure, our great Leader is trying to cleanse the impure passages and make them clean again, but that isn't all. Apparently, the Doomsday

Books contain more than just our pasts, but our futures are there as well... Can you believe that?"

She sent a wide gaze to Sebastian and Eloise turned her head away from the sight of the Butler, _'Just wait till we get home, then I'll show him who's the impure one' _she thought venomously _'I can't believe Dagger would praise that jerk.'_

"The future?" Sebastian enquired, "Interesting...you don't say?"

The Nun tossed out her long auburn locks "It's true, but only the Chosen Children of the Heavenly Choir eligible to hear the words of the future written in the books."

"What is this Heavenly Choir, do they all sing hymns or something?" Ciel asked and the Nun said with a slight smile, "Well I'm not sure, singing may not be the right word exactly, but I hear beautiful sounds, that come from our Leader's bedroom."

Eloise dead panned and Dagger snickered "This whole Religion things isn't sounding very Holy now is it?..."

* * *

><p><strong>Naughty Sebastian :P<strong>


	23. Shock

**Yeah, I'm starting to struggle a little bit with the ending of this story. So I better bloody finish it before my muse disappears altogether. **

**Enjoy the double update.**

**Hopefully some light was shed on all of this. **

* * *

><p>They stood among the arches later on that night after Sebastian had dismissed the Nun.<p>

Ciel stood against the stone wall with his arms folded and Sebastian looked down on him, "With this Heavenly Choir only being consisted of boys, you will be our only chance to getting close to the Priests."

"Why only me?" Ciel asked begrudgingly "I am not the only boy." He shot a livid glare to Dagger, who stepped back and pointed to himself "Well I'm not a boy" he chuckled sheepishly "I'm twenty two, technically a man. Sorry, I can't be part of this little Singing Group. It's up to you since you are the Youngster here."

"Rubbish" the voice of Grell rung out. "Just look at this outfit!"

Grell posed and held up his hands showing off a child's outfit and Dagger moaned "I think I'm gunna be sick."

"They'll let me into the Choir for sure," Grell sung.

Sebastian, Ciel and Eloise looked at the Reaper in disgust "Well? How do I look?"

Beside the Grell, a small boy dressed in brown shorts wailed, "He's making me impure."

"I _hate _this guy," Ciel muttered up to Eloise, she agreed, "He's...out there isn't he? I can't believe you've allowed him to tag along this far!"

She was going to continue to mutter to Ciel before they were cut off by singing that echoed throughout the silent courtyard.

"Wow" Dagger breathed, "That's quite some singin', almost rivals your voice Ellie..."

Eloise flinched and Sebastian sent her a quick dark glare before the young boy that Grell had stolen clapped his hands together "The time has come for the Cleansing Ceremony."

"Cleansing hey?" Grell said, staring out towards the Church.

"I was right" Sebastian said quietly "Something here does smell." He looked around and Eloise felt a small tingle run up her spine, she followed Sebastian's glance and she knew that the Butler saw a hooded person disappear from in front of the window as they were spied on.

Ciel was watching them "What is it?" he asked and Sebastian shook his head "Nothing Sir, nothing more than a rotten apple, dead fruit from a fallen tree."

* * *

><p>The Cat raced along the tops of the buildings, following the singing from the Church. She dashed across the beams and down the tiles when she caught sight of a large procession gathered outside of the Church. Nun's and Monks were lined up at the doors and between the lines, Priests dressed in white walked towards the doors, leading two cloaked figures that reeked of dirt and uncleanliness.<p>

Not the unclean, the Religious ranted about. Unclean as in, they haven't been able to shower in a few days.

Her sensitive nose picked up on that.

Eyes gleamed in the darkness and the Cat was able to distinguish a man and a woman being led into the Church. The Woman had a tear stained face as she was led along and the man was silent.

The singing continued to harmonise and echo out into the night.

_'Cleansing' _she thought _'How are they going to progress with this? These people hardly seem unclean, that's if...they had been allowed to shower first.'_

Her whiskers twitched to the air, the same sick feeling washing over her. She cowered backbefore seeing the Priest walk into the Church, she dashed back over the roof and jumped down onto the dirt path and tried her best to keep to the shadows.

People were starting to gather everywhere and it was getting hard manoeuvre around to find where the others were hiding with her clothes.

The Abbey was clean, so there were no garbage bins or boxes to hide behind when it came out to the open.

The Cat had to make a mad dash across. She hadn't expected it to get so busy so quickly, as she trotted along. She heard a horrified cry.

"A black cat! That a sign of the Devil, bad luck!"

Several Nun's and two children saw her with wide eyes as they pointed to her.

The Cat froze before bolting to sanctuary but that was after a child had stooped down low and picked up a stone and threw it at her.

It connected with soft flesh and with a soft mew of pain; the Cat lowered her ears, feeling the wound on her head.

She ran for the shadows and away from the children and back to where the others were.

Ciel and Sebastian looked her way as she came running towards them and Sebastian knelt down and picked her up. "You're bleeding? What on earth happened?"

"Bleeding? Ellie! What happened?" Dagger came from the shadows and took the Cat out of Sebastian's arms and inspected the wound on the black cats head, "Transform back Ellie, we can't hide forever. I'll make the others turn around."

Only when it came to her privacy was when Dagger acted respectful and like a Gentleman, not with anybody else however, Dagger tending to be quite the pervert.

The Cat jumped down and her small form began to twist and transform.

Dagger held out her clothes with his eyes shut and there was the quick rustle of clothes and Eloise's voice came out.

"Rotten kids threw rocks at me! Because I was a Black Cat! Nailed me pretty good as well."

A bleeding cut was on her cheek, Dagger opened his eyes and went over to her, and wiped it off from a cloth he had in his black vest pocket "That was uncalled for!"

Eloise looked to Sebastian, Ciel and Grell "They're heading inside the Church now. They have people that they're dragging in. It doesn't seem like a kind procession. I suggest we get in there and see what's going to happen. I feel like it's not a Holy Procession, even though they claim to be God's Children."

She wiped her cheek again "Who throws rocks at defenceless Cats? I wasn't doing anything wrong except walking the streets to get back here!"

Sebastian led everybody out "I know you're annoyed Miss Eloise, but thank you. We might have an idea on what they're going to do. Let's get in there."

* * *

><p>The Church was already full of Holy people when Eloise, Dagger, Ciel, Sebastian and<p>

Grell ducked into the back pews to watch the Ceremony. The singing didn't stop and Grell took the opportunity to cuddle up to Sebastian's arm, with a large content smile on his face.

Eloise held her breath as she watched the Priest come forward to the large empty podium.

"Tonight" he began a low, raspy voice "The unclean, will be made pure again, it is time for the Cleansing."

The two people that Eloise had seen before were led up the stairs, the cloaks that they had been wearing were stripped off, and they were completely naked underneath.

Large black marks were painted onto their back in black paint and Eloise sat back and wondered _'What have they been convicted of?'_

They were knelt down and another hooded Monk came forward and handed the Priest two black books.

The Priest put them on the podium and opened them up.

"I shall read the Doomsday Books of these impure, lost children. First, Jill Pheasant the second child of a Father, she conceived a child in sin, then we have Thomas Atkins. He has committed no evil deeds per-se, but he has spent his life meaninglessly and that is a grave sin to us."

"He's being punished because he has lived his life meaninglessly?" Dagger incredulously "The girl, yeah she can be punished if she conceived out of Wedlock, but come on?"

He sent a glance to Eloise who nodded "That's wrong, you're right about the woman but with the man. That's not a Will of the Lord. What's going on here?"

She jumped back against the wooden seats as she saw the people be engulfed in black smoke. Their cries and screams of pain reverberated around the Church and nobody even moved.

Their hands clapped together in prayer and the singing continued, even those who had committed Sin cried out in agony.

Everybody in the back pew jerked back in shock as a golden light shone into the Church and Eloise let a cry escape her. Clapping a hand over her mouth and shaking her head.

_'I recognise this power! It can't be...?'_

"I say" Ciel gasped leaning forward as the large stained glass window at the front of the Church began to glow with a soft golden light.

Suddenly it gave way and a short film was shown about the woman, playing with her child and the man happily fishing.

Surely, it wasn't enough to convict them of sin?

_'Snuff out the Unclean'_

The Priest said holding out his hands.

'_And the unwanted and the unnecessary.' _His voice echoed through the church and the words buzzed familiarity in Eloise's mind.

Ciel drew back, the colour draining out of his face as the Priest continued to shout "Snuff them out! All of THEM!"

Suddenly the window smashed under the force of the light and the two beings were sprawled out on the stones screamed out in pain. When the light diminished, Eloise looked back up to the window and found it to be whole and perfect again.

The image of an Angel was painfully clear and Eloise felt dizzy.

"And now" the Priest said, lowering his arms "Despite the things these people have done, they are no longer unclean, our brother and our sister now as pure as snow!"

Everybody in the pews cheered and talked amongst each other excitedly at the success of the Cleansing.

Up at the front, hooded grey figures put now, clean grey cloaks on the people that had been deemed unclean.

The tattered ones were nowhere to be seen.

They were stood up and led down the stairs, Eloise watched them disappear out the door before looking back to Ciel and saw the boy shaking.

"That was a little different" Dagger whispered, "Is this what we were looking for?"

Grell shook his head, "Something is wrong, those books the Priest had? Those weren't Cinematic Records."

"So they weren't?" Ciel muttered, "They don't have the power to see the past or the future?"

"It's something more than that" Eloise said, "We have to be careful, there's dark power about those books. About this whole Church! You...Grim Reaper" she pointed to Grell "Keep your eyes open; otherwise you will be dragged into this as well."

"Oh you are still here?" a soft familiar voice rung out "I'm so excited."

"It's the Nun" Dagger whispered, "She's come back for more?"

They all looked towards the Nun, accompanied by several more; she smiled "The Heavens have smiled upon you all."

* * *

><p>"W-What are you doing!?" Eloise shouted, as Nun's surrounded them "Let me go, I don't want you-..."<p>

She yanked her arm away as she saw Dagger and Ciel struggle against the Nun's. "Let them go!" she shouted, "You'll regret this!"

"You all must be Cleansed" one Nun replied exasperatedly "To follow our ways...you must..."

Eloise pulled Dagger away and seethed "You will not touch him, or would you Ciel, I demand you release them!"

At the angry tone in her voice, the Nun's faltered and one said weakly "We cannot let the unclean taint our pureness" she said "They need to be properly cleansed, for the time being, they will have to be separated from you Pure One."

All of Eloise's fight drained away from her instantly and Dagger sent her an incredulous glance "Ellie? What...? Why did they call you a 'Pure?'"

His shirt was wrenched off him and the Nun's eyes widened at the tattoos and patterns that decorated Dagger's body.

"H-Hey!" he protested "I didn't give you permission to strip me."

The others tried to wrestle Ciel's shirt off him and he protested loudly, all his attention and strength into fighting these Nun's.

"I can do it myself!" he roared and one of the Nun's cried "Nonsense! You've been chosen to be part of the Heavenly Choir; we must cleanse you from head to toe!"

Dagger was still fighting and when Eloise saw Sebastian approach the Nun's with a calculating look on his face.

She shouted to the Nun's restraining Dagger "Stop!"

They stopped dead in their tracks.

"I will be the one to Cleanse him" with a hint of steeliness in her voice "Move aside."

She walked to them and the Nun's retreated and Dagger looked at them stupidly before Eloise grabbed his hand "We have to get out of here" she whispered "Please cooperate Dagger and I will tell you everything. It's something I shouldn't have kept from you for so long."

She tugged on his hand and pulled him in the direction of the Cleansing Baths, all the way, Eloise able to feel Sebastian's cold and calculating gaze burning holes into her back. If he hadn't already figured it out, he would definitely know now.

Then she would have to explain herself to the Demon as well.

A story that was best left behind, now bought back into the light. Bringing up her painful past... Eloise was angry, this was the reason why she didn't want to come to the Abbey in the first place, everything was a mess!

* * *

><p>"There's more to Eloise isn't there Sebastian?"<p>

Ciel allowed Sebastian to wipe the cloth over him with the warm, salty water. Sebastian nodded his head "I had already thought you knew about her Master? What do you want me to say?"

"She isn't a Demon is she?" Ciel asked.

Sebastian could have burst out into laughter at the ridiculous question.

"Of course not" he said "Eloise is far from being a Demon, but she is far from being a Human or a normal Circus Performer. She was hiding for a reason, to be out of a light that has been searching for her."

"She was reluctant to come here," Ciel muttered, "If we didn't force her, she was happy to stay at the Manor. She has been jumpy and anxious ever since the Curry Competition and it has only escalated from there. Do you think she's part of this Cult?"

"I cannot say" Sebastian muttered "They did refer to her as being a Pure one, so if she was part of this Cult and escaped to the Circus, there would be a reason why she didn't want to come back. There could be a chance that they could punish her for defying the Religion."

"She does know an awful lot about it" Ciel said, "I will have to put her under suspicion, Dagger also. I might not be able to know if she could turn around and attack me if I go for the kill against this Cult."

"She won't attack you, I can assure you that Master" Sebastian reassured him "Firstly, I will not let her get close to you and secondly... I believe it's against her nature to attack somebody she has promised herself to protect."

He continued to wipe Ciel's back. "Either way, we will find out her secret sooner or later. Then we will be able to judge her, it's up to you Master if you will allow her to stay. I have figured out several things about this place that rather interesting."

* * *

><p>"It's just a little awkward for you to be washing me like a child Ellie," Dagger said after their conversation. "So... what are you going to do? You can't bring yourself to kill these people; will you allow Sebastian to do it instead?"<p>

"What they are doing is wrong," Eloise muttered, smoothing down Dagger's wet spiky hair

"It shouldn't be like that at all, to punish one for living your life meaninglessly? That not true, each and every soul live a life full of excitement and adventure. You can never spend it meaninglessly."

Dagger nodded "Wouldn't blame you for being upset Ellie, but hey, I'll always see you as our little Trickster, our Illusionist of the Noah's Ark Circus. Those memories are precious Ellie and nobody will be able to take them away from us."

Eloise stopped and put the wet cloth down "It's in my nature to protect the ones I care about, I've tried to stop it time and time again without revealing myself but this time, if I go to protect you or Ciel, everybody is going to see who I truly am."

Dagger turned around to look up at Eloise with his large, somewhat droopy green eyes. "We'll be fine" he smirked "If it comes down to it, I'll be the one protecting _you. _Give me knives any day and people will not even come close to touching you."

They both stopped talking when the door opened.

A figure dressed in grey robes walked in. Their face was hooded and shadowed and Eloise couldn't distinguish their features.

They stopped dead in their tracks when they looked up to see Eloise and Dagger, staring at them with large, confused gazes.

It began to tremble and they walked forward towards Eloise and thrust out a bundle of towels.

"Here" a shaking male voice came out "Take them!"

Eloise reached out and took the towels and the man looked down towards the direction of Dagger, who frowned as he looked up "Are you alright?" he drawled, "I'm having a bath here."

The hooded man took a deep shuddering breath before turning towards the door and _running _to it, slamming it open and disappearing out to the Corridor beyond.

"What was his problem?" Dagger asked, "Ellie are you alright? Did he frighten you?"

Eloise had frozen, before lowering the towels "H-his voice sounded so familiar, why would he act like that when he saw us?"

"Maybe cause you're deemed as a 'Pure' one" Dagger drawled "They might not see people like you walking around every day. Taken that into consideration?"

Eloise shrugged "I just can't-" she took a gaze back to the door "Just can't shake the feeling that I somehow _knew_ that person."

* * *

><p>Dagger and Eloise walked into the large empty church as Ciel arrived to speak to the Priest, dressed in the Heavenly Choir uniforms.<p>

Eloise was instantly over come with a sick to the core feeling and Dagger pointed towards the back of the Church. "We're being watched."

Two figures at the back were watching them, a smaller one, went to go run down the aisles but the bigger one held them back.

"Weird" Dagger breathed, "W-What are we going to do? I'm not part of this Choir? Why did we have to come along when Sebastian and that red-head 'thing' didn't have to?"

"It has something to do with me," Eloise said darkly, her gaze wandering to the Priest and another grey and red hooded figure standing somewhat behind him in the shadows. "I think they're going to test me."

She watched Ciel climb the stairs towards the Priest as he caressed the so-called 'Doomsday' book.

"Thank you for choosing me" Ciel said, "I understand it's quite an honour?"

Eloise stiffened when she saw the Priest raise his hand and place it on Ciel's shoulders. The tingles in her back turned to pains and she had the instant gut feeling that Ciel was going to be harmed. The Priest continued to talk and Ciel listened with a frown knitting his brow.

Ciel asked another question before the Priest caressed the book again and Eloise saw Ciel's reaction. He jolted violently with a gasp and that's all she needed.

She launched from Dagger's side, a light beaming around her.

Loud jingles of Keys were heard throughout the Church and Eloise extended out a large Silver Key which she had brandished from the light around her.

Her arm transformed and a long sleeve of spiked armour covered the length of her arm and she lunged towards the Priest, knocking his hand away.

"Ciel move" she demanded, "Get to Dagger! Now!"

Ciel stepped back, gazing at Eloise's lethal spiked armour on her hand and Dagger shouted "Ciel, listen to her!"

The Earl stepped back in horror before stumbling down the stairs as he watched the transformation in Eloise. Her calm temperament gone, replaced by a deep ferocity.

The Priest stumbled back and there were the sound footsteps of people running towards them. The two people situated at the back of the Church ran towards them and a very familiar voice rang out, "Get back Eloise!"

Eloise faltered and grabbed her loop of Keys once again before the person behind the Priest ran forward and went to go attack Eloise.

There was the shred of fabrics and the person was knocked back to the stone floor. The Priest stood there hopelessly and Eloise stepped back, her armour shimmering in the dim candlelight.

Her face was stunned, her violet eyes wide.

The mysterious person stepped back, lowering the sword that he had brandished to protect Eloise. His hood had been thrown back and Eloise was met with the shock of red spikes and a familiar face she had thought she would have never seen again.

She blinked once before the stream of tears cascaded down her cheeks and she heard the happy shout of Dagger behind her and laughs of a younger person.

A familiar skeletal hand reached out and the voice came out with a smile to it:

"How is it my Princess? Didn't expect to see you so soon, especially in a place like this."

Eloise nearly collapsed, her knees trembling and her legs feeling weaker and weaker by the second as the horror filled her.

One word slid past her lips in a choked whisper.

"_J-Joker_?"

* * *

><p><strong>:O<strong>


	24. Secrets Revealed

"Eloise!"

Ciel's voice grew frantic and before Eloise could even have her happy reunion, she was jerked back as the Priest made his way towards her with hideously scarred hands.

"Move Ell!" Joker roared, "Get away from here!"

"Sebastian" Ciel shouted, his voice reverberating around the church "This is an order! Kill this Man!"

"Yes my Young Lord" Sebastian's smooth voice came out.

Eloise and Joker jumped back as the window above them smashed and the familiar figures of Sebastian and Grell jumped in.

Sebastian pulled several silver knives from inside his cloak and with efficiency as well as Daggers, he hurled them. He knocked the Priest off guard and a knife was embedded in his head, as he fell in a pool of red blood.

"Ciel" Eloise cried as the hooded figure made a dash for him, Sebastian swung around with anger burning in his scarlet eyes. He threw another knife but the figure had jumped up and the cloak was ripped to shreds.

Then...

White feathers began to rain down onto the stained, red concrete.

Eloise frowned, "You!"

Sebastian looked unamused, "I thought it was you" he said darkly as the figure sprung up "and I was right Angela!"

Large pure-white wings erupted out and the long flowing figure of an Angel soared up with a smile on her face.

"Uh Bassy?" Grell asked hesitantly "What the Hell is an Angel doing here?"

Angela swooped down beside Ciel and wrapped her arms around her. For once, Eloise saw the alarm on Sebastian's face as Ciel was swept up in the arms of the Angel, "Master!" he shouted.

Angela pulled out a book and Grell cried out "That's a Cinematic Record."

White and black reels erupted from the front of the book and Eloise spun around to Dagger, Joker and the still hooded figure "Get back, stick with Sebastian and get the hell out of here!"

Sebastian was enveloped in films and Eloise was the only one who could pursue the Angel.

"I will show it to you," she said to Ciel in her sweet voice "All the light and darkness moment in your past." A large white circle appeared and Joker shouted, "You can hide it any more Eloise, you have to get her!"

With grit teeth, Eloise put the loop of Keys in her hand and flung out her other hand with rage.

There was a loud ripping sound as her dress tore and massive, silver wings erupted out in the Church. "You won't lay your hands on him!" she shouted to the white Angel "I won't allow it!"

With a sweep of her large wings, Eloise took off after the Angel and she shouted to Sebastian, "Get there as quick as possible! I'll keep her preoccupied and get Ciel!"

She disappeared in the sphere of light and Sebastian could only hope her could place his trust in the Angel that had been living among them.

* * *

><p>The light blinded her as Eloise was greeted by the large white building that belonged to the Grim Reapers.<p>

She followed after Angela with hatred burning in her heart _'This was why I always felt sick, it was her, hovering about, she was hiding her presence and messing me up. She won't get away with this...I won't let her!"_

Angela disappeared into a top window and Eloise followed, her Keys clenched tightly in her hand, threatening to break the skin.

As she entered the room, she saw Angela putting Ciel down on a large red seat before lunging forward, a large golden Key glowing and manifesting into a large golden sword.

"Angela!" she roared, swinging it down and hearing the clash of metal on metal.

Angela had summoned her own sword and she only grinned up at Eloise.

"Fancy meeting you here Eloise... After you became a Fallen, I wouldn't expect you to be in the company of a Demon?"

"What I have done while being a Fallen does not concern you," Eloise growled, jumping away "No matter what, I am still a Guardian Angel. You cannot beat me; you're only a Messenger, An Angel of Chaos. I should turn you in on the Arch's. But I think I will have the pleasure in killing you myself!"

"So you still have your Heavenly Keys?" Angela chuckled "Only Guardians can have them, I thought you would have been stripped of them when you stepped foot on the earth?"

"Stop taunting me" Eloise growled, "I am being punished for my actions as we speak, but it was not necessary to strip me of my Rights, Duties and my Powers."

Angela smiled back down to the unconscious figure of Ciel, "So little Ciel has attracted the attention of a Guardian Angel? He must be very lucky to have you; you weren't very interested in humans to begin with? Until you fell in love..."

Her violet eyes lowered to see Eloise's fake prosthetic and Eloise shouted, "That is none of your concern, this lies with me, the Guardian Council and the Archs. Not a lowly Cherub like you."

Angela bristled at the word "Do not call me that."

"What?" Eloise taunted "A Cherub? That's all you are Angela, wanting a title to deem worthy amongst all Angels. You won't be like any of us if you continue hurting the world like the way you are."

"I'm Cleansing the world!" Angela said furiously "And when I do, I will be given an Angelic Title worthy of the Angel Republic, then I might be able to take your Title off you!"

"I don't think so" Eloise said darkly "I am a Guardian, Which alone requires strength beyond words. You cannot take that off me easily, like what I have said before, I am only being punished, I haven't been banished. I tried keeping it a secret but you have angered me and have now forced me to reveal my true nature!"

Her armour and sword disappeared, she looked to Ciel. "You will allow me to take Ciel Phantomhive and you will return to the Gates and confess your Sins against the World. It will be up to the Arch's to decide what your fate will be. If not... I will kill you."

Angela gripped her sword tighter, a slight breeze rushing through the white Angel and past the Silver Fallen Angel. Violet eyes locked with one another and Eloise willed the delinquent Angel to step down and know her place.

But Angela wasn't going to have that.

There was a sigh as Ciel got up, Angela sent a venomous glance to Eloise before she crooned his name several times and the Earl sat up.

His large blue eye landed on Angela before sliding across to Eloise, it widened in shock at the large silver wings that stretched out several meters either side of her.

"I'm so sorry" she whispered, "I'm sorry Ciel."

"Oh so you're awake now" Angela sat down on an armchair next to Ciel, a graceful smirk on her face.

"So it was you," Ciel said, "Angela Blanc!"

"How did you like the record of your past?" she asked, "I hope it felt like you had been wrapped in soft velvet…or sandpaper against your sk-…"

"**Shutup**" both Eloise and Ciel shouted, the Earl looked angry as he stared at Angela.

"That hand" he demanded, his eye wavering, "That hand was his wasn't it?"

Eloise looked towards the Chaotic Angel and Ciel with questions fumbling around in her mind before the Earl spoke again, "It was my Father's hand wasn't it?"

Angela only smiled at him and Ciel began to fume, "You killed them didn't you?"

"Oh it wasn't me" Angela chuckled lightly, "It was your Butler that killed them…no…it was _you_!" Ciel shrunk back in realisation at the words the Angel said before Eloise stepped forward, brandishing her loop of magical Keys and wings spreading out further than Angela's.

"She is trying to make you upset Ciel," she argued desperately, "Don't listen to her; she is out to make your life miserable! Don't listen to her!"

Her wings shrunk back as Angela walked up to Ciel, "Oh it would be such a shame to let that glow inside you disappear because of your impurity" she sighed. She reached up and went to cover Ciel's face with her hand.

Eloise saw the terror that permeated the Earl's face, summoning her courage and strength, she tried to knock Angela away with a brutal push of her silvery wings, Angela stumbled back, her own purple eyes narrowing.

"I will _not _let you touch him!" she shouted, her voice ringing through the Library where they were currently situated. "You have to go through me first."

Angela let Ciel stumble away, falling back as Eloise sprung towards the white Angel, pulling out a long shining dagger. Her long brown hair twisted about her eerily, her deep violet eyes flashing in anger as she rammed Angela back against the Bannister, holding the dagger to her throat.

Angela had put her fingers in the way of the blade, so Eloise was cutting into her fingers and she hissed in the other Angel's face, "You signed your death wish when you decided to mess with the wrong person!"

"Having a Demon Butler and an Angelic Fallen Angel?" Angela chuckled back ruthlessly, "You may as well be a Demon if you are consorting with them Eloise, you will be punished more than what I will be. You are impure!"

As the Angels stood off against each other, Eloise saw Ciel tumble to the floor in multitudes of bright lights, as films suddenly erupted from his chest.

"What have you done to him!" Eloise screeched, she drew back the dagger and bought it back, embedding it in Angela's shoulder.

There was a savage cry of pain, Eloise pushed Angela roughly back against the bannister and raced to the collapsed figure of Ciel before the doors to the library burst open.

"Master!"

Eloise looked over her shoulder, moving her wing to see Sebastian watching them with angry scarlet eyes; he looked back to the wounded Angela with the dagger hanging from her shoulder before going to run over to Ciel and Eloise.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" a monotone voice came out, one of the Reapers that was accompanying Sebastian and the eccentric Grell, fixing up his glasses with the blades of the weapon he had.

"If you try to stop it, his past will be horribly changed and he will become something less than human."

Angela smirked at them from the bannister, clutching her bleeding shoulder, "Clean as the driven snow" she chuckled.

"My young Master" Sebastian said through grit teeth, "…Is being _purified_."

Despite the harsh situation they were in, Eloise said to Sebastian sarcastically, "This is the first time I have seen you _exasperated _about something."

Her hands hovered back around his face; she knew she couldn't wake him up because it would destroy the boy she had come to love. "Come out of it Ciel" she whispered, "Ignore it, please come back to us!"

Then, from the floor, Ciel let out a piercing, agonising scream that made Eloise fall back in horror. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she began to shake uncontrollably, "_Ciel_" she cried, "No! No… fight it. It's all a trap!"

She dropped her hoop of keys against the tiles and a couple of silver feather wilted and fell from her wings.

Ciel was lifted from the floor and up into the air, near the roof of the library as the records flailed out of control around him.

"What have you done!" Angela said, pulling out the bloodstained dagger and letting it fall to the floor. "You have tainted him with your impurity!" she seethed at Eloise, "You filth ridden _Fallen_!"

Eloise scrambled up to her feet, tripping over the hem of her dress a couple of times before Ciel began to topple from the air.

Both she and Sebastian reached out their arms and caught the small body of the Earl and fell to their knees, their arms intertwined clutching the boy.

Her wings brushed against Sebastian, who looked at her with his scarlet eyes. "I always had a feeling that you were one of those. But a _Fallen_? Haven't come across one of those in a while, it is probably why I couldn't recognise you."

Eloise pulled back a couple of dark strands away from Ciel's sweaty face before he stirred and began to open his eyes.

"What the _hell _were you thinking?" Sebastian scolded him and Eloise only let out a shaky laugh, tears rolling down her face, "Thank God" she cried, "Ciel are you alright?"

The Earl looked at the faces of the two Ethereal Beings holding him in their arms, before his face turned into his customary scowl, "S-Sebastian…Eloise, good catch?" he managed to whisper. Eloise smiled, wiping her wet cheek on the feathers of her wings and Sebastian said down to him, "Always surprising" he said, "You are always exceeding my expectations, you have a worthy soul."

Eloise unwound her arms from Ciel and hobbled to her feet, she looked down to see her dress ripped and her prosthetic was starting to crack under the pressure it had been forced into.

"_It's not going to last" _she thought, _"It's going to shatter any minute now_."

She stepped forward to face a bloodied Angela, who was shaking in anger. "What a horribly, unclean heart" she spat, her face twisting. "Depraved and stagnant, trapped in the dark! I should have never shown you pity!"

"Pity?" Eloise spat, "Do you honestly think trying to change his past would make everything better? You are not an Angel that is capable of Purification! _Cherub_!"

"I will purify him!" she shouted, Eloise prepared to fight, but she felt her leg start to ache painfully. A chunk of her prosthetic fell to the tiles with a tiny 'click' and Sebastian stepped forward and pushed her behind him.

"We will see about that" he smirked, lifting his hand and brandishing several silver knives and the monotone Grim Reaper looked at the Angel, "A crime in the Library is something that the Grim Reapers should take care of, so let us join the fight. Come with me Grell."

Grell did a quick twirl, "Alright" he chimed happily before jumping forward and making a line with Sebastian and the nameless Reaper that Eloise didn't know.

"We will march into battle side by side" Grell swooned, waving his scissors around happily. His face went red, then everything stopped when the Undertaker suddenly walked past pushing a trolley full of books.

Eloise kept her gaze on Angela, but it was starting waver. Her prosthetic began to crack even more and the pain was starting to affect her capability to fight. Ciel noticed this as well.

"You should stay back," he warned, "You are going to lose your leg and then you will be hopeless to us all."

They looked back to Angela as the Reapers talked among themselves, "You seem busy!" she scolded coldly, "I guess I will have to start my purification at the Abbey then!"

"Running away?" Sebastian shot back, "You coward!"

Angela only smirked at him and Eloise realised with horror who was still at the Abbey.

"No" she cried out in distress, "Dagger and Joker are there." She ran forwards as Angela said, "I will show you a world that is run by impurity, I doubt you will like it though."

She began to disappear in a bright light, Eloise ran forward. Stretching out her wings and launching herself in the air just as Sebastian hurled his knives at the Angel.

Angela disappeared just as Eloise reached her, both her and the knives bouncing off uselessly as Angela escaped into her path of light.

"No!" she cried, "She's going to hurt Joker! I have to stop her."

She was flung away by the power of the pathway, she toppled back and fell back onto the tiles with a heavy 'thud' and that was the last her prosthetic leg could take before it shattered and fell about her.

Eloise looked up at the roof hopelessly as the pain raced up and down her spine from the trauma of her leg being broken. Tears rolled down her cheeks and Ciel ran to her, falling down to his knees and inspecting the remains of her leg.

"It's hopeless" she moaned, "This is the price they wanted me to pay. I'm a hopeless Angel that pulled off her own leg to stay on the Earth to stay with the one I loved. Now, he's facing the Angel of Massacre and I can't even hobble there to help him."

"I always knew that there was something about you" Ciel said grimly as he inspected the remains of her leg, "It did occur to me once or twice that you could have been an Angel, but Sebastian could never really identify you."

Eloise looked back to Ciel with sad eyes, "I'm sorry I kept it from you Ciel, but it was my burden to carry. What Angela said was true, I was a Guardian Angel but I am being punished for defying the Arch's and the Council. I met a human and I fell in love, when I found out that it was a Circus that accepted people with abnormalities, I thought I would be clever and pull off my own leg."

She covered her eyes and began to cry into them, trying to hide her descending tears. "The Arch's thought I was being cheeky and decided to punish me. They made me a Fallen where I couldn't ascend back to the Heavens whenever I wanted. They were going to force me to stay and make me watch everybody I loved die."

She sniffled pathetically, "I thought Joker did die, I really did. But now…he's in that Abbey with Dagger and that blasted _Cherub_ is going to target them, knowing that it will upset me into doing something stupid."

"You fell in love with Dagger didn't you?" Sebastian's voice came down to her, she sensed his presence loom down beside her and she only remained silent, feeling the tears ooze down between the crack in her arm.

"Whatever it is now" she finally said, "It's my problem and I have to fix it before the Arch's decide to come down and fix it themselves. It would prove more disastrous for all of us if they do. I can't lose anybody else, it would ruin me."

She felt Sebastian put his hand underneath her back and help her up, peeling away her wet arm as well to look at her puffy, red face. "It's odd to see an Angel with such a fascination with humans," Sebastian said, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping her face. "Usually, you all stay up there and turn your nose down on the affairs of the Human World and the 'Others' that lurk."

"I'm a Guardian" Eloise said miserably, "We are designated to patrol the Earth and protect humans. I couldn't help but become intrigued. I didn't think I would eventually become a Fallen and be in an arms lock with a Demon trying to save a teenagers soul."

Sebastian smirked at her, his ruby eyes glistening dangerously, "There's always something better than a tasty human soul you know Eloise. Doubt you would like it though."

"Definitely not" Eloise grumbled to him, her violet eyes narrowing in warning. "I still have my Keys and I am still able to fend you off."

"While you two sit there and argue, what are we going to do about the people in the Abbey?" Ciel demanded looking to the Grim Reapers who were just standing there watching the scene before them unfurling.

Just before William T Spears could speak there was a cheerful voice that broke through the Hall; the familiar figure of the Undertaker appeared. He was pushing a Cart full of Cinematic Records and humming as he went to the wall and began to put them back.

"What's the Undertaker doing here?" Ciel asked dumbfounded and Grell stamped his foot indignantly, "What is he doing here with our Cinematic Records nonetheless, Will we have to do something don't we?"

William didn't look too pleased, he fixed his glasses with his Death Scythe before looking down to Grell, "He is a famous Shinigami that ended the life of Robin Hood and Marie Antoinette, he is known as a Legend."

"So that's how he knew everything about the dead," Eloise muttered wiping her eyes miserably, "Owning a Mortuary must make you feel right at home then."

The Undertaker grinned wickedly as he put back some of the Records before turning around and looking to the three still kneeling on the tiles beside Eloise.

Meanwhile, Grell wrestled with the door and tried to pry open the door handles but to no avail. "It looks like we have been locked in" Will said monotonously.

Ciel and Sebastian looked back to the Undertaker as a Record above him began to glow a vivid red. It began to shake on the shelf before flying out from its place and landing on the floor with a loud 'bang' and opening up to a page in the middle.

William and the Undertaker began to read the record and began to recite what had been happening and it turned out that it had been a young Nun in the Abbey. The Record depicted an Angel descending from the Heavens, an Angel of Massacre.

And how she wanted to end the Unclean and the Unwanted.

Ciel left Eloise and Sebastian and approached the Undertaker, his hand reaching out grasping the Undertakers sleeve. He looked up at him defiantly; "Stop her" was all he said.

From beside Eloise, Sebastian smirked, "How charitable Young Master, I thought you wanted to end this Cult once and for all, now you want to help them?"

Ciel looked almost disgusted at the remark, turning back and scowling at Sebastian, "I do not want to help _them_. However, I don't want to let _her _have her way. She is becoming a nuisance and I want her out of the picture."

"Well how are we supposed to stop her if we are locked in here?" Grell exclaimed, "We can't exactly go anywhere."

"That's not true," Will said, adjusting his glasses yet again, "There is a tool, an ultimate Reapers tool to which us Managers have access to." He sent a glance to the still grinning Undertaker, "It is called the Death Bookmark."

"I always knew that you Reapers had a dirty way of playing around with a human life" Eloise said to the two Reapers. "Who knew it would come in the shape of a bit of cardboard. How many lives have you all managed to mess around with?"

The Undertaker laughed as he rummaged around his cloak pocket, after a moment he pulled out a small black bookmark marked and lined with a vivid pink colour. "Look at that" he chortled, "It even comes in pink! How lovely is that?"

Ciel rolled his eyes as he peeked over the Undertakers arm, he scanned the page before murmuring, "The sentence just ends there."

"Indeed" the Undertaker said, pulling out a quill like object with the same colouring as the bookmark, "If I place that here, I can make some editorial changes, the woman of this story is named Matilda Simmons and her soul is being purified by the Angel Angela." He chuckled as he read the last sentence, "Yes, but if I suddenly write in that a Sebastian Michaelis and Eloise Ivah suddenly appeared in the Abbey…?"

Eloise gasped as a white light enveloped her and Sebastian, her body rippling as she passed through the fabrics of time itself. She instantly felt the strain of a migraine coming on as she suddenly found herself landing on the cold, stone floor of the Abbey.

Nuns and Monks lined the pews, all crying and writing in pain as Angela stood up the front of the Abbey. Her face twisted when her eyes fell on a familiar Nun, "She smells like a Demon" she said in horror.

Sebastian then magically appeared beside the young woman with a smirk on his face, "Yes indeed, it was because I marked her."

"Do you really want to die at the hands of an Angel?" Angel asked, her eye narrowing dangerously. "Quite a decision indeed Sebastian Michaelis."

As Sebastian rushed forward to begin his assault on Angela, Eloise struggled off the floor wobbling precariously on her one leg.

"Damnit" she growled, "I don't have a choice but to use them in here." Her wings fluttered and she lifted her weight off the earth, receiving incredulous glances from the people who were recovering from the pain.

She rose higher up in the air and searched the Abbey frantically for the two people she intended to save but couldn't see them along the pews. She pulled out her Keys as she heard Angela spit at Sebastian, "A _creature _like you is forever chained to the Earth."

"Oh is that so?" Sebastian used his infamous, shit-eating smirk "Does that mean that you are forever chained to the Heavens?"

Eloise saw Will and Grell appear on the stone work between the pews and William's Death Scythe extended out with amazing speed, catching Angela by the throat and slamming her high against the stone wall of the Abbey.

Grell was given a Death Scythe as well to detain the Angel, it extended out and pinned Angela's hand to her wing, the crimson blood staining the pure white of her feathers and her dress. As the Reapers and the Demon taunted the now trapped Angel, Eloise made a dash for the doors at the end of the Abbey with a frantic cry, "Joker?"

She slammed open the doors with tremendous force and looked around the dark Abbey before she heard her voice being called out, "Ell? Over here!"

The Angel craned her neck to see Joker with his hood down, his red locks were a mess and his face was sallow. She felt relief pool inside her and she went gliding over to try and get them out of the Abbey.

She hovered in front of him before looking around wildly, "Where's Dagger?"

"He's with Doll" Joker explained, "Ell, it's not safe here."

"I know it isn't safe here" Eloise growled, "Sebastian is in there saving our backsides, we have to hurry up and get out of here before Angela decides to throw a tantrum!"

She saw Dagger reappear with Doll in tow, the young girl looking frightened and weary, her eye looked up and down Eloise's wings and Dagger whistled, "Pretty impressive Ellie."

"There's no time for flattery" Eloise cried desperately, "Dagger, we have to get them out of here right _now, _I don't know how much longer Sebastian can hold off Angela."

As she said that however, there was an unearthly roar from inside of the Chapel and the whole Abbey began to tremble as waves of power swept over the stone buildings.

A blinding white light began to fill the room and the corridors beyond, Eloise pointed to the doors and shouted, "Go! I will meet you outside!"

The Abbey began to crumble and Eloise heard the Ethereal voice ring out across the Earth.

'_Snuff out the clean, the unnecessary…'_

As Joker, Dagger and Doll made a dash for the entrance, the Nuns and the Monks followed with panicked screams and cries. The ceiling began to crumble on top of them, stretching out her wings; Eloise made her way to the doors as well to escape the carnage that was happening around her. Just hoping, everybody got out alive.

Eloise reached the cool night air and soared up dangerously close to the looming clouds that were threatening to obscure the moonlight. She watched the Abbey crumble to the ground beneath her and the throngs of people that were escaping down the paths either on foot or on carriage.

She felt the pressure fall upon her, the deaths of the people below her almost seeming to choke the life from her. Her wings faltered before her large violet eyes looked up from the wreckage and she saw another Angel rise up and then fly away with desperation surrounding her.

Angela had escaped after all and Eloise knew where she would go next to start her massacre on the Earth.

She would have to stop the other Angel before the Heavens decided to intervene or it would be the end of the world that she knew.


	25. Decieve

**I hope people don't decide to hate me for where this seems to be going 0.o**

**If its any consolation, I am thinking of a Sequel to this and it will be a heck of a lot better than what this story would be :P**

* * *

><p>Sunlight filled the valley where the rubble of the Abbey now lay; Eloise hovered down beside Ciel as he observed the stone and wood.<p>

Eloise saw with sorrow that a lot of the people hadn't gotten out, their now lifeless bodies crushed under the heavy stone. "We couldn't get them out on time" she muttered, "Half of those people wouldn't have even known that they were being manipulated."

"Isn't that what all Religions do?" Ciel asked rather brusquely looking up at her in the air above him, "You are depicted in a lot of Religions, being an Angel and all. I would understand that you would have some sympathy for the Cults that followed your kind."

Eloise hovered down beside him, her one leg almost touching the earth, "There is a difference between an Angel and a Fallen Ciel, I am marked by my silver wings. Everybody who sets eyes on me will know that I betrayed the Lord and the Heavens. But there is even a step underneath where I am the Angels cursed with black wings named the Nephilim."

She sent a gaze back to Sebastian who was standing behind them with an unfathomable look upon his pale face, "He would know about them rather well, since they have been banished to hell and all. But what I am trying to say is that I am an '_Angel ' _but not the _Angel _that everybody wants me to be. I may as well be a human in the state that I am in at the moment."

They were silent for a moment before Ciel let out a sigh and turned around to Sebastian, Eloise did so as well, her violet eyes burning into the Demon that approached them. But for once, he didn't smirk or smile, his face was solemn as he reached the human and the Fallen.

"A promise is a promise," Ciel muttered and Sebastian only stared down at him. Eloise waited the tension filling the air around the three and Ciel closed his eyes, but the shaking in his hand was unmistakable.

Then Sebastian stepped forward, bent down slightly and tightened the ribbon that held Ciel's little white cloak in place and stepped back with a small smile on his face. He looked up at Eloise who smirked down at him.

"I'll see what we can do to reach a compromise later, don't you think?" she said ever so softly. Sebastian then only smirked at her and Ciel rushed forward and grabbed Sebastian's cloak and demanded almost desperately.

"Why Sebastian? Why are you not taking my Soul? She has to be dead, she has to!"

Sebastian only sent a malicious smirk to Ciel, who stumbled back in shock, "Is there someone else?" he gasped. Sebastian didn't answer, instead only bending down in front of Ciel, "I'm sorry" he said to the Earth, "But it looks like I will be serving you for a little while longer."

The air was almost palpable when Eloise looked down the path past the Abbey when she heard her name being called out happily, "Ellie!"

A smile broke across her face as she saw Dagger and Joker supporting Doll between the both of them. Dagger broke away from the other two and began to run down the path towards Eloise.

His shirt had been shredded to tatters revealing his tattooed body, also revealing all the cuts and bruises he had received when the Abbey had come tumbling down around them. He raced down the path, Eloise dropped from the air and landed in his happy embrace as he spun her around, "I'm so glad you're alive" he breathed.

"See I told you shouldn't come along on expeditions like this" Eloise laughed, with tears filling her eyes with relief. "It only brings danger, look what happened this time around! I had to show my true nature, now everyone can see my wings."

Dagger let her go and Eloise hovered back before the tears rolled down her cheeks when she saw Joker unwinding Doll's arm from around his neck. Time hadn't done any good to him, he looked thin and almost sickly, but it didn't stop the fact that this was Joker!

He was alive and he was standing right in front of her, but it didn't explain why Eloise hesitated in that split second before she launched at him, knocking the young man off his feet and both landing in the dust.

"You're alive," she cried down to him, her tears falling down onto his cheeks, "I- I thought I lost you, you were at the Abbey the whole time!"

Joker reached up a severely battered skeletal hand to cup her face, his own eyes filling up with tears. "Ell…I was told that _everyone_ had died. When we were attacked at Father's and…" he looked up to see Ciel and Sebastian before dropping his hand and struggling up to a sitting position.

"Black and Smile!" his face seemed to contort, "You're the ones who attacked us, they only using you Eloise!" he looked back to Eloise who leant back in shock. "You have to believe me; after you left, they burnt down Father's Manor. They knew that everyone had been killed and they taunted me with it. They were going to leave me in the inferno so all trace of me would disappear, they would use the fact of me dying to manipulate you!"

Eloise sucked in a breath, looking back to Ciel standing on the path with a solemn look in his eye. Sebastian looked as equally serious and Eloise was overcome with the bad feeling. "I fell into your trap" she whispered, "You wanted to use me. You kept Dagger alive to keep me at the Manor!"

"Eloise" Ciel reasoned, "We did intend to bind you in case you wanted to run away, but that was never on your mind and everything worked out just fine didn't it? You were finally moving on with your life and now look at you! You're reverting back to the stage you were at back at the Circus!"

"I trusted you Ciel!" Eloise cried, sweeping her wings so she lifted her weight off Joker. "I thought you were a good person and I promised that I would protect you! Only to find out that you had been intending to trap me. You wanted to find out my power and now you know! I'm a Fallen Guardian Angel, is that all you wanted to know?"

The tears continued to fall down her cheeks and Joker struggled up to his feet, "Don't you see it now Eloise? I trekked the whole Countryside looking for you, I _knew _they would have hunted you down and wold have manipulated you for working with them. I saved you just in time."

"You have it all wrong!" Ciel scolded, "Stop being so rash and just listen will you? After all we have been through, _all _of us, you are just going to believe the one story he has held with him and decide that we are the bad guys in all of this?"

"I knew it" came the snarled response from Dagger, "So you _were _hiding something from us, I knew I shouldn't have trusted you guys after you killed my _family_. I was a fool in ever believing that you would keep us safe. I even trusted you to take care of _Eloise_," he slapped his forehead as his own tears threatened to overwhelm him; "I was such an _idiot_! Why… did I ever…"

He struggled with his words, closing his eyes and fighting with the tears and Ciel's voice came out coldly from behind Eloise as she turned back to Joker. "What would you been ridiculing yourself for? The both of you? You were happy working in my Manor and you were moving on with your life, I was almost certain that you both were falling in love with each other."

Eloise gasped, the tears rolling down her cheeks as she saw the broken look appear on Joker's face. Her wings buckled from behind her and she plummeted back to the Earth, the sudden weight on her one leg gave way and she fell back to the dust and hid her face in her hands, refusing to look at Joker.

In a way, she knew that she couldn't blame Ciel for what he just said. Deep down, she knew that he was right; she just didn't want to admit it. Behind her, she heard Dagger groan and scuff the earth with his shoes.

"You're going to make us suffer by dragging the relationship we had into this" came his outraged voice. "We didn't bother you with what we had and did as we were told just like the others."

"I could always add in more," Sebastian offered, "But judging the way how Eloise is down there in the dirt, she already knows what she had done. I am going to leave it up to her to decide what she wants to do with this situation."

Eloise refused to look up, but her sensitive hearing heard Sebastian's footsteps and his voice, "Come Young Master, I think it's time that we take our leave. It's quite obvious that we aren't wanted here anymore."

"You're right" Ciel's cold voice came out, "I've done all I can, I never thought that I would be the one turning my back and leaving them here. After everything I done…"

Eloise heard them turn around and start to walk down the path before Dagger choked out, "Don't hurt Snake!"

At that remark, she lifted her head and spun around to look at the Earl that she had come to care deeply about. She let the tears fall down her cheeks before adding in her comment, "Please don't hurt him. He is a good person and if he was told that all of us died, it would ruin him."

"It's Snake!" Doll shouted furiously, "Why don't we go there and save him! He is a prisoner there; they will go back and kill him! We can go save the others as well, if it was all a lie…" Dagger spun around to the younger girl with a livid look on his face, "They're dead!" he exclaimed furiously.

Doll went silent and Dagger flung out his arm, "Peter, Wendy, Jumbo…Beast! They were all killed, I was going to die myself but obviously I wasn't saved because they took pity on me." His green eyes slid back to Ciel, "It was a trap."

As the other Cirques argued amongst themselves, Ciel looked to Eloise's tear streaked face with an unreadable expression on his face, "I won't hurt him" he said, "Eloise, when your mind is made up, you will know where to find me."

With those last departing words, Ciel turned back down the path and with Sebastian behind him; they left the Cirques by the ruins of the Abbey.

Eloise watched them go until they were out of the distance before she left out a sob and rubbed her eyes again, "I never took him to the one to lose so easily and walk away from a situation like this."

She heard footsteps behind her and she felt the presence of Dagger bend down beside her. He put his hand on her shoulder, "What are we going to do Ellie? He done it to give us a chance. This is what we wanted wasn't it?"

Eloise looked up at his sad face before muttering, "Dagger, we built a life at that Manor. What about Finni, Bard and Mey-Rin? I will even miss _Sebastian _if we decide to leave all of that behind."

"That's saying something isn't it?" Dagger tried to smile light heartedly but to no avail. He went to go pull her into a hug but in that next split second, it happened so fast that Eloise couldn't even comprehend what had happened.

"_YOU!" _

Joker come stomping forward with angry tears in his eyes, his mouth turned up in a scowl. He raised a leg and he kicked Dagger fair in the middle of the shoulder blades with his eyes blazing. "You heard the one thing that you wanted to hear, me 'dying' so you could make a move on Eloise!"

Eloise spun around with her violet eyes wide as Dagger went sprawling face first into the dirt. "Joker!" she cried incredulously, "What is your problem!?"

The red head stood over Dagger lividly, "You thought you could stake a claim on her? Think that you could _seduce _her when she was obviously grieving for _me_?"

Dagger looked mortified, holding his hands up in front of his face; "W-We thought you had died Joker" he tried desperately, in case Joker decided to kick him again. "We were both messed up and it just happened. I couldn't help but…"

"But what?..." Joker roared angrily, "You couldn't help but fall in _love _with her? Get your head on right Dagger, she _loves _me and she always had _loved _me, You had mighty big shoes to fill and you obviously failed."

Eloise hovered back up so she could regain her balance, then she surged forward and knocked Joker away. "There is no need to hurt him!" she shrieked, "What he said was the truth Joker; we started to lose hope when the time began to fall away. It's quite bold of you to say that I didn't ever love him!"

She recoiled when Joker looked up at her with smouldering grey eyes, "So it's true then" he said dejectedly, "You fell in _love _with Dagger? What ever happened to _us _Eloise? You jump on the next male you see after the first one supposedly died?"

"That's not true!" Eloise shouted at him, "Stop talking down to me like I am some wench! You didn't know the stress we were both under _knowing _that everything we were living was a lie. But Ciel made sure that we had a place to live, so we weren't separated and gave us freedom! I'm sorry for deciding to move on with my life!"

She hovered down to help Dagger up which only seemed to anger Joker more, "I was with Doll this whole time" he spat, "I didn't go start a relationship with her did I? Because I never _stopped_ loving you."

Eloise helped Dagger sit up, the Ex-Cirque wiping the dust away from his face, His green eyes livid and hurt as he stared at Joker.

The air around them all was about to snap and Eloise got back up before trying to ease the situation, "I never stopped loving you Joker, I always have and I always will. You couldn't blame me for trying to seek comfort from another to try and ease the pain. If it weren't for Dagger, I would have sought to try and either go back to my duties in Heaven or considered ending my life."

The tears rolled from her eyes in a steady stream and she set her gaze on Joker's dejected gaze. "I'm sorry…" she whispered brokenly, "Joker, I have missed you _so much_ and for us to have a fight, it's the worst feeling in the whole world."

Joker stepped towards her, taking a step at a time almost as if he were trying to judge the sincerity of her words. He came closer and closer, finally holding out his arms and gently grabbing Eloise and then bringing her to his chest.

She fell against him, letting another sob escape her and feeling the guilt gnawing at her stomach, knowing that Dagger was watching from behind her.

Joker stroked her hair, "I love you Princess," he murmured, kissing the side of her head "I promise we will make everything right again. Everything will go back to normal, the way we want it to be and we can finally be happy again."

Haring these words, Eloise couldn't even bring herself to even nod. The pain was suffocating her and the weight of the Earth seemed to crushing her even more. She couldn't help but feel that she had done something grievously wrong.

All she wanted to do was turn heel and run back to Ciel and Sebastian, they always seemed to know what to do in these sorts of situations. But she knew that they would have gone by now and she was now by herself.

* * *

><p>Sebastian walked down the Hall to see his Young Master standing in the bedroom that Eloise and Dagger had occupied. The Earl stared out of the window to the terraces beyond with a distant look on his face.<p>

It had been three days since the destruction of the Abbey and when Ciel had turned his back on Eloise to make her own decisions. The Manor seemed less lively without the two causing a racket and Ciel could almost imagine that he would turn around and see the grinning face of Dagger or the scowl that Eloise had when she saw Sebastian.

"Young Master?" Sebastian politely knocked on the door, interrupting the silence "Lunch is ready, I can have it waiting in your study if you…"

"Do you think she will come back?" Ciel asked, cutting Sebastian off entirely.

Sebastian smiled, stepping into the room and coming in to stand beside Ciel. "Who knows with that Angel, she is an independent person and if perfectly capable of making her own decisions. I'm sure she will make the right decision, it may take, weeks, months or even years…"

"I'm not waiting years Sebastian" Ciel said, "Did you see how she had changed under our care? From that meek young woman who relied on Joker for every little thing. If there was anybody manipulating her it would be him."

"Well I am deeply sorry for saying this," Sebastian said, "But it isn't your decision to make for her. This is what she wanted from the start, she wanted to find Joker and she wanted to continue living her life. We aren't part of it."

"You do know that I am selfish right?" Ciel asked looking up to the Demon with a hint of a smirk on his face, "For a while, I had not only a Demon but an Angel as well in my game of chess, I never realised how much of a valuable piece she was until she was taken."

"I do know that" Sebastian smirked, "I should have known that you wouldn't have given up so easily without having some sort of strategy to bring her back. Give her some time and come down and have some lunch."

* * *

><p>"It's bin' three days and they still haven't come back home?" What do you think they're doing?"<p>

"I can only imagine what they are doin', Do you think they 'ave eloped and gotten married?"

"I miss them, I want them to come back home. It's weird not having them around the Manor."

"I cannot believe that you would say something so perverse about Trickster and Dagger…says Emily"

Bard, Mey-Rin, Finni and Snake stood in the kitchen as Sebastian took the last of the Lunch for the Earl. They stared at the floor before Bard dropped the butt of his cigarette on the stone and squashed it out. "Do you think something happened to them on the last trip they went on?"

"Don't say that" Finni cried horrified, "The Young Master wouldn't let that happen to them. Maybe they are just in London buying things for us before they come home. Yeah, they're doing that."

"Those two are able to fight and look after themselves…says Wordsworth" Snake said quietly, "I just hope they come back and take us to where they are…says Bronte."

"Why would you wanna leave for?" Mey-Rin asked the silver haired man, "Aren't you happy here living in the Manor? Miss Eloise and Mr Oscar were."

Snake fidgeted uncomfortably, "They were my…family, they accepted me for who I was. I miss them…says Wilde."

The three other servants sent pitying glances to each other before Mey-Rin piped up, "I'm sure they will be home in no time at all. Like w'ot Finni said, they've just gone down to London do some chores for the Young Master."

Snake sent an uncertain glance to the Servants around him, holding a snake close to him. He only nodded before everyone was interrupted by Sebastian returning to the kitchen and giving them their lists of chores for the afternoon.

Snake just stood back and watched, still deciding whether or not he could trust the people that lived in this Manor. He knew that Trickster and Dagger did, but he was still having a tough time with it.


	26. Pressure

Eloise could count six days since she was left by Ciel and Sebastian, six days since she had travelled the Countryside with her former Cirque companions and found herself increasingly unhappy.

"Hello, I'm enquiring about transport that would take myself and a companion to London?"

Eloise leant over the wooden bench asking for quiet directions from a shop in the town of Preston. She had managed to escape the clutches of Joker and the others, by 'disappearing' into the crowds of the Market Street.

The woman looked at her dumbfounded before she looked around her shop before saying, "Well, I do know of the trams that travel from here to London, they are horse drawn though so it might take a few days to get there."

"Oh I don't mind about the days" Eloise said, quickly glancing behind her, "Can you tell me where the station is? I just need to know the times that's all."

The woman started to look uncertain about Eloise's situation before pulling out a scrap of parchment and scratching out some directions to the station. "Here" she muttered, "These are the times, I will write you out a note. My husband is one of the drivers, if you give him this I am sure he will make a special night time trip and get you to London as quick as possible."

"Thank you so much" Eloise whispered taking the paper and hiding it in the folds of her dress, "You don't understand how much this means to me. " She gave the woman a grateful smile before brandishing a large crutch and hobbling back, "I am in your debt with this. Goodbye."

She turned heel and left the shop, melting back into the crowds outside closing the door behind her and leaving no trace that she was ever there, except for one. The woman stared down at the bench where a small card fluttered down onto the hardwood.

The woman only scanned the card to know who Eloise was and who she dealt with, _'Funtom Company.'_

* * *

><p>"There you are Princess, where did you disappear off to?"<p>

Joker and Doll waved Eloise down as she tried to look around the stalls for Dagger. She stopped and plastered a grin on her face, she waved back, "Sorry" she called "I got caught up looking at something and you guys left me behind!"

"I'm sorry" Joker smiled, draping his skeletal arm around her. "Just sing out next time, I'm sure I will hear you." He pulled her along the street full of people and Eloise couldn't help but notice every time Doll pickpocketed somebody.

About halfway down the street, Eloise pulled away and stared at them both with exasperation. "If you want something, just tell me and I will buy it for you."

"Buy?" Joker looked incredulous, "When have _you_ ever bought something?" he stepped back and Eloise frowned, "Ever since I started living with Ciel Phantomhive. He caught me being a pickpocket at an Ice Fair and told me off about it. After that, he started to trust me with money and I _saved _it thank you very much."

"All you talk about is _Ciel,_" Joker growled, "Don't you remember it was him that destroyed our entire way of life Eloise? Singlehandedly killed off half of our troupe and destroyed our _Circus_."

"Our way of life?" Eloise spat, "You stole _children_ Joker, you were known as the _Pied Piper_. What we did in the past was wrong and it sickens me that I allowed myself to associate with it for so long."

She ignored the pointed glances that she got from people milling about her before pushing through them and stumbling along the stalls. "_Why_!" she grumbled "Why am I even bothering with this nonsense anyway?"

She wrapped her arms around herself against the chill of the wind and pushed through the crowd before she heard her name being called, but not from the person she was avoiding. "Ellie? Is everything alright?"

Dagger emerged from a stall holding a small bag, his caramel hair swaying in the wind. His eyes fell on her frame as she was trying to shield herself. "Are you cold?" he asked, "Here…" he shrugged off the coat he had and handed it out to her, "I just bought it, it's really warm."

Eloise sent an exasperated glance to the sad looking Dagger before taking the offered coat before pushing him back in between the stalls and shielding them from view from the main street.

"Wha-…" Dagger went to exclaim, but Eloise slapped her free hand over his mouth and hushed him. "I got directions and a note that can get us to London _tonight_. We just need to shake Joker and Doll and then we can get out of here."

Dagger's eyes widened before he moved Eloise's hand, "London?" he whispered, "Ellie, you want to go back to London? Back to them?"

Eloise nodded sincerely, "Dagger, if we go back to the Manor everything will go back to the way we liked it, in all its messed up ways with Angel's and Demons, Grim Reapers and every other Supernatural Creature of the Crime Underworld."

Dagger looked unsure, "Is this what _you _want Eloise? You will leave Joker after all the tears you shed over his _death_. What are you thinking?" He tried to struggle away from her but Eloise kept him in an iron embrace.

"I'm not going back to the way I was" she hissed, "I have looked at things from a different light and Joker isn't the same man I had fallen in love with all those years ago, This isn't what I want anymore and I have decided what I want and that's to go back to London."

Dagger stared at her with wide green eyes, "London…wh…"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Eloise crushed her lips against his. It was soft and gentle as if were to comfort him into the fact that she was going back to London to continue to give _them_ a chance.

She pulled away and leant her forehead against his, "This is where I am happy" she whispered, "With _Oscar McKinley_, we will go back to the Manor and Ciel will help us for as long as we need it. Even the jerk Sebastian will given the right…leverage."

"Are you _certain _about this" Dagger said hushed, "You are aware of what Joker is capable of. He was the Leader of the Noah's Ark Circus and we knew not to cross him. He is a Master _Assassin_, he will hunt us down in no time."

Eloise tapped her nose, "Sebastian… that is all I am going to say. I'm more than certain that he will keep quite an eye out, especially if Ciel will be the target."

"You will use him as bait?" Dagger quirked an eyebrow and Eloise shrugged, "He's done it to me numerous times. It wouldn't hurt him if I turn the tables just this once."

"How do you suggest we get away from them?" Dagger peered around her to the street beyond, "We don't exactly look like the average Joe, Ellie. We stick out like a sore thumb." Eloise sighed before looking at the coat that Dagger had offered her, "Maybe it would help if we wear coats and buy hats to hide our hair. We might be able to get away unnoticed."

They crept out from the stalls, Eloise clutching at her cane and looking around for any sign of the Joker before easing on Dagger as he ushered her to a stall that sold clothing and head attire.

Eloise purchased a coat and a hat and Dagger did the same before slipping them on and obscuring their hair. Eloise hid her cane underneath the coat and Dagger stood close to her lame side to try and hide the fact she would be hobbling.

"It's going to be difficult to hide the fact that you're missing a foot Ellie," Dagger muttered, "All Joker has to do is search everybody's feet and he can find you right away." They struggled down the street and Eloise said grimly, "You forget my prowess Dagger; I wasn't an Illusionist for nothing."

Silver dust fell about them and Eloise muttered, sending a glance around the street, "This should be enough to get away and so that we can hide." They kept their faces downcast as Eloise followed the directions to the tram station.

On the way, Eloise kept a watchful eye out before her eyes fell on a Candy Stall at the end of the Market Street. "Oh wow," she said with sparkling eyes, "I haven't sweets for a long time, Dagger can we stop for a quick second?"

Dagger reluctantly stopped and they went over to the stall, Eloise grabbed a medium sized paper bag and began to stuff handfuls of sweets into it eagerly. She looked up at the Stall Keeper who looked somewhat nervous and sending her calculating gazes before she asked, "You don't happen to have products from 'Funtom' do you?"

The man seemed to relax slightly before sending shift gazes around the stall before coming out with a tiny bag filled with red wrapped sweets. "This is what I have gotten from 'Funtom' recently," he said in a hushed voice, "Its newly exported and goes by the name of _Lady Blanc_."

Eloise took the small bag and gave the Stall Keeper a smile, "Thanks for that, Funtom's renowned for their product. It's really popular, you should keep selling it, you will make a lot of money."

She pocketed the sweets before paying the Stall Keeper and hobbling around the corner, shoving a toffee in her mouth. Dagger sighed, "It's almost as if you have been deprived of sweets Eloise, Ciel Phantomhive owns 'Funtom' just ask him to work in the factory."

"But he knows that I will eat it all" Eloise said prying her jaws apart from the chewy caramel, "He wouldn't let me leave the Manor and travel to London every day."

They walked down a much quieter road, with Dagger casting the occasional, paranoid glance around them so Doll or Joker wouldn't catch them. As much as he knew they were family, Joker had changed and there was no way Dagger wanted to trust him again, especially with Eloise.

Back in Market Street, Joker had come to quickly realise that both Eloise and Dagger had disappeared and caught onto their plan within minutes. He walked angrily down the street, his long cloak billowing out behind him.

He turned back to snarl at an uncertain and frightened looking Doll, "They will be heading to the nearest station, Eloise will be making a dash back to London, going back to _Phantomhive_."

* * *

><p>"Oh no."<p>

Eloise slammed back against the brick of the wall, bringing Dagger with her. "I knew we shouldn't have taken a stroll through the park, _Joker_ is at the station. He's found us out!"

Dagger looked around the building cautiously before looking back to Eloise with wide green eyes, "So what do we do? He'll be waiting there until he catches any sign of us. We're trapped!"

Eloise rubbed her face in frustration, "That's not the Joker I know," she growled, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the station. "Why do you think I was so desperate to get away? Dagger, he's changed and I sense a shadow in him. I'm getting really frightened on what could happen."

Dagger sent a gaze down the road before pointing out a police station, "Look" he said, "Let's go to the Station, they will be guaranteed to have some communication. Maybe we can reach London?"

"I can call Ciel and he can get Sebastian here to save our backsides from bloody Joker," she hissed, pushing away from the wall and hurrying down the cobblestone, "Come on Dagger hurry up. I have to get out of this town; it's too easy to track somebody down."

The pair strode down the street and walked in the doors of the Police Station before Eloise slammed her hands down on the counter and said desperately, "Please, I need to use a telephone so I can reach London. It's very urgent, please help me."

The officer glanced at her wearily before he connected several lines and asked, "Who do you need to contact?"

Eloise hesitated slightly before she rushed on, "I need to contact Ciel Phantomhive. Its personal business and I have to speak to him."

The Officer connected the phone and then put it on the counter and Eloise snatched up the receiver and waited for the dial to connect. After a moment, there was a click and Sebastian's audible voice came over, "Phantomhive Residence?"

Eloise almost crumbled at hearing the voice; she never thought that she would be so happy to hear that demon again. "S-Sebastian" she gushed into the phone, "I-Its Eloise, I have to speak to Ciel, are you able to put him on?"

"Where are you calling from" Sebastian asked, his voice growing serious and Eloise sent a glance behind her before clutching the receiver to her ear, "From the police station in Preston, we were going to catch the trams back to London but Joker has us cornered. I think we're in danger."

"I'll put the Young Master on," Sebastian said before the line went silent. Eloise waited anxiously, afraid that the unstable line would disconnect and she would get hold of the person she wanted to speak to.

"Yes?"

Eloise burst into tears at hearing the Earl's voice, "C-Ciel" she blubbered, "Ciel you have to help me, I'm stuck in Preston. Joker has gone insane and has Dagger and I cornered, there is only one station and he is keeping watch for us."

"Eloise, you and Mr McKinley are stuck in Preston?" Ciel sounded uninterested over the phone and Eloise had the passing fear that he wouldn't help her. "Please" she whispered, "Ciel, we were coming home. I made a stupid mistake and all Joker does is hurt me, he's hurt Dagger and I don't trust him anymore."

"Alright…" Ciel went silent for a moment before he came back, "Sebastian will be with you momentarily, wait for him at the West Entrance of Preston, he will be there tonight so be ready. I expect you both to be in working order when you return to the Manor."

Then Ciel hung up.

Eloise put the receiver back in its holder before pushing the telephone back over the counter and giving it back to the Officer, "Thank you" she said gratefully bowing her head, "You have helped me a lot."

"If there is an individual out there that can harm civilians, you should report him right now," the man said seriously, "It's an offence if you don't."

"He is no danger to civilians" Eloise reassured him, "What goes on is between myself and Ciel Phantomhive. We will have it fixed shortly. Thank you again." She hobbled from the station, readjusting her cane and striding to the door.

"Come on Dagger, we have to meet Sebastian."

* * *

><p>Ciel hung up the phone and sent a smirk up at Sebastian.<p>

"All we had to was wait" Sebastian smirked back, "She would have come back sooner or later. Everything is going back to the way you want it Young Master?"

"I didn't expect her to say that Joker had harmed her" Ciel said darkly, "He knows that her weakness would be to go for Dagger and he must have already done that. For her to be as distressed as she was; she was obviously hiding from him and he blocked her only escape route."

"You are aware that Joker would know that she would be returning to London," Sebastian asked, stepping back with the telephone on the tray. "He would be following her back here momentarily; she won't be very safe for long."

Ciel folded his hands underneath his chin, his one cerulean eye gleaming. "I was aware that she would use me as bait, but she knows that being in the Manor, Joker no matter his expertise will not be able to penetrate our barriers. Now, prepare and get there as quickly as possible. I do not care how you get there; just bring them back to the Manor. I will finish off this _Lady Blanc _rubbish momentarily."

"As you wish my Young Lord."

* * *

><p>"If he said that Sebastian will be here at nightfall, why are we here so early?" Dagger looked down the path as Eloise paced back and forth anxiously, her large silver wings flickering in agitation.<p>

"I'm not going back into that town, Joker and Doll are experienced trackers and they will catch us. It'll be a miracle if they don't find us before Sebastian comes. Its why we are so far out of the West Entrance. I don't want to risk it."

"I thought this is what you wanted" Dagger said, leaning back against the trunk of a tree and taking off his coat. "You always wanted to leave the Manor and go find the Circus again, you wanted to find the love of your life and be happy. What changed?"

Eloise hovered back and forth agitatedly; she unwrapped another lolly and shoved it in her mouth and eating it before looking back down to Dagger. "I've been thinking about it all week, were our lives really that great?"

Dagger hesitated as she ranted on, "We performed for children, made them laugh and glimpse into another world completely. Wasn't it the best feeling knowing that you brought wonder and delight to these innocent souls… only to find them dead later on that night or days after that? We were filthy kidnappers and murderers Dagger. I was an Angel and yet I stood back and did _nothing_."

She shook her head forlornly, "_Nothing_, it will be enough to condemn me for my sins at the atrocity. I will never say that I was proud of what that Circus did and Joker…?" she flung her hand out back towards Preston. "That is not the man I fell in love with, would he ever go out of his way to physically harm a person that was a part of his family?"

"Well…" Dagger looked thoughtful for a moment before gazing back up to Eloise, the rim of his hat casting a shadow over his eyes, "If I found out that another man was screwin' my missus, somebody would get hurt. I wouldn't be able to control myself."

Eloise blushed at Dagger's crude words before trying to rephrase what she said, "He's gone out of his way to hurt you to get to me. He's looking for a reaction so he can hit me or something, he's not happy because I'm not his little follow around slave anymore."

"He wants everything to go back to normal, the way _he _wants it and it's not going to stop. He'll be wanting to punish me!"

Eloise did another pace of the path, her wings faltering before she sighed in frustration and tried to stop her shaking hands. She was so on edge and she didn't know why, it was driving her almost mental, she was seriously about to snap.

"What have you been eating" Dagger frowned up at her, "You're more agitated than usual, gimme' a look." Eloise fished through her pockets and threw down a red wrapper to Dagger, who snatched it up and read the small writing on the wrapper.

"This is the _Lady Blanc_, how much have you eaten?"

"I don't know Eloise snapped down to her companion, "Check the bloody cloak! They're only lollies!"

Dagger fished through Eloise's cloak and pulled out the small bag with the red lollies in them only to find three left. He pulled one out and unwrapped it to see a little white ball, contradicting what the wrapper said of 'Toffee.'

"Oh no" he muttered, taking the ball off the wrapper and sniffing it. It gave off a potent odour and Dagger knew right away what it was, "Ellie" he shouted up at the Angel, "These aint sweets, they're drugs! It's Opium!"

"Drugs?" Eloise screeched, "Why would Ciel import drugs? I don't believe you, you liar!"

"Did the bloody things turn to powder in your mouth Ellie?" Dagger shouted back, "I'm telling you, Opium! Somebody may be using Funtom as a way to traffic it. You have eaten a full bag of it! You may have over dosed!"

He threw the bad away and crushed the remaining drugs underneath his boots, "This is why you're probably about to tear somebodies face off Eloise. Are you feeling numb, tell me what you're feeling."

Eloise looked over the horizon before a sense of euphoria came over her. She put her hand on her forehead before muttering, "I-I feel dizzy" her wings fell out from beneath her and she plummeted back to earth.

Dagger rushed forward and caught her; he felt her clammy skin and her face was pale. She was out cold before cursing to himself, "So its hit her all at once, great this is the last thing I need. How am I going to tell Sebastian that she overdosed on drugs?"

* * *

><p>Dagger was mortified at the way Sebastian turned up at dusk.<p>

He knew from Eloise that Sebastian was a demon, the polar opposite of an Angel. So when he turned up in a smoking black carriage led by massive horses with their manes alight with crackling fire. Dagger was almost too terrified to move forward, let alone relinquish his death hold on Eloise.

Sebastian sensed his fear before jumping down and walking past the horses, "Demon steeds" he said almost maliciously, "They are five times stronger than regular horses and since the Young Master needed me to return as quickly as possible, this was the best way."

He approached them and noticed Eloise passed out in Dagger's arms, he didn't even need to ask, he accidentally stepped on a sweets wrapper and saw the _Lady Blanc _and sighed, "How did she manage to get one of these?"

"She bought a whole bag actually" Dagger said cautiously, "She thought they were sweets and she was eating them one after the other without even realising what it was. She was scared about Joker finding us."

Sebastian sighed, "She'll be alright I will assure you, she is a divine being, they are a lot harder to kill than letting them overdose on simple human creations." He held out his hand, "Come now, we don't have all evening, the Young Master needs us. She'll wake up along the way. It's going to be simply _one hell of a ride_."


	27. When It Starts to Come Together

Eloise was pulled from the fog with a splitting headache, she came back to consciousness and realised that she was lying down in somebodies lap.

It was nightfall and Eloise couldn't make out whom she was lying on with her eyes still blurry. She looked up and blinked several times before she heard her name being called, "Eloise?"

As her vision cleared, she suddenly caught sight of long red hair and a skeletal arm reaching down for her.

She immediately panicked and with a cry of shock, Eloise let her fist shoot out and hitting his face before letting her wings split her clothing and found them crushed in a small room of sorts.

"Ugh Ellie!" came a pained voice that was definitely not Joker, but Dagger, "Put those bloody things away will you? We're still in the carriage!"

Eloise let her heart stop hammering in her chest before she retracted her wings and saw Dagger squashed up in the corner of the carriage, nursing his jaw. "I'm sorry," she muttered, "I thought you were Joker just then. I didn't hit you that hard did I?"

"You bloody clocked me" Dagger said indignantly, "But are you feeling better now?"

Eloise ignored his question, letting her wings fold back into the base of her spine. She peered out the window before letting the relief pulse through her, "We're in London!" she looked up at the driver's seat before opening the door and climbing out into the cool air.

She climbed out onto the driver's seat and saw Sebastian pull the reins slightly and give her one of his infamous smirks, "So our little Opiate User has finally come too? You were in quite the bad shape when I came to pick you up."

"If I had known that it was Opium I would have known better," Eloise said heatedly, feeling the blush creep on her cheeks. "But I had other things on my mind and since I haven't been able to properly rest for the past week, my powers have diminished and I am useless."  
>She stared at the horses, seeing the last of the embers dying down in their manes, "So you used Demon Steeds? How fitting…what is the rush? We aren't going back to the Manor?"<p>

"Last minute duties called for the Young Master to come to London, issues that have been caused by the _Lady Blanc_. Since it has been found in Funtom products, we have pursued Lau only to have him disappear."

"Ugh" Eloise snorted, "I'd love to get out of these clothes, but if duty calls I suppose it cannot be helped. I'm just more than relieved to be back in London, especially before Joker." She looked over the side of the carriage and Sebastian pulled up beside a building, "The Young Lord wishes to speak to you about that."

As Sebastian pulled up, the buildings doors slammed open and Ciel come stomping out looking less than amused. Sebastian jumped down from the driver's seat and went to go open a door as Eloise leant over the roof of the carriage to stare down at him. "Found yourself in quite the drama Ciel? It's been distributed to Preston, so who knows how far it has been spread."

"Not now Eloise" Ciel snapped getting into the carriage, "We have to get away from here and catch Lau, the traitorous leech. All three of you may have a job to do at the end of the night, Mr McKinley, your assassination skills may come of use."

The carriage door slammed shut and Sebastian got back into the driver's seat and urged the horses forward in a run and they thundered down the road.

"So it's really that bad is it?" Eloise muttered, "I didn't realise how fast things could escalate." She looked to Sebastian who looked grim and unamused, "It's been going on for quite a while, it's only been brought into the spotlight recently and the Young Master has been put under fire."

"What does he expect us to do?" Eloise asked incredulously, "Who knows how far it's gotten, its already starting taint the Phantomhive name we won't have much of a chance to stop it once it gets rolling for real."

The carriage thundered down the road with the horses frothing at the mouth, Sebastian urged them faster until a man came running out onto the street holding his arms out wide. Eloise screamed and clung onto Sebastian as he wrenched the horses reins up and pulled on the emergency breaks.

The carriage just barely stopped beside the man and Eloise dared to glare at him as Sebastian scolded him like a child, "You are a reckless man! Had anyone else been driving you would have been trampled."

The man lowered his arms and Eloise recognised the young man from Scotland Yard and felt the acid boiling in her stomach. Things weren't going to go well and she prepared for the worst.

"I knew full well who you were and that is why you were stopped," the young man said with a satisfied smile on his face. Within seconds, the carriage was surrounded with police officers, the doors of the carriage burst open and Ciel's angry voice came out into the darkness, "What is going on out here?"

"Please step from the carriage Lord Phantomhive" cam the response of the man, "You are under arrest under the name of her Majesty for violating the Pharmacy Act."

Eloise spun around to gaze at Ciel as Sebastian turned around with an unreadable look upon his face, "Allow me Master." He jumped down from the carriage and opened the door all the way open and Ciel stepped out, what seemed to get Eloise was that Ciel almost seemed to be smirking under the mask of annoyance.

They spoke and Ciel was dismissing all accusations, belittling the man until he was informed that Lau had escaped and the narcotic was in a large warehouse and already being distributed in the Funtom Wrappers.

As Ciel went to go speak with Sebastian, a cold voice came out.

"Shut your mouth you _brat_!"

An older man appeared, wearing a top hat and a long coat. He was no doubt an Inspector for Scotland Yard but Eloise was not going to have him speaking to the Earl that way and jumped from the carriage with a defiant look on her face.

"I told you to separate the boy Earl and the Butler."

"Who gives you the right to be spouting orders like that?" Eloise spat coldly, "We do not take orders from you, let you know that our orders come from the Queen herself. Do you dare try to fill big shoes with your little feet? Where is your authority?"

"So you're back as well" the Inspector, known as Randall scoffed, "The attitude bound woman from the Circus? Where's the other one, still in the carriage?" At his accusation, Dagger climbed from the carriage and stood on the roof with his arms folded glaring down at Randall.

"So your whole little entourage is here," Randall said, "This might be more of a problem than I expected." He looked to Ciel, "I expect you to cooperate Earl!" He held a gun to the Earl and Eloise was quick to react as Randall said, "My orders came from the Queen's representative and he made her wishes quite clear."

"Representative?" Eloise shouted, "As in her Butler? Please tell me that Earl Grey gave the order so I can wring his neck."

Randall seemed almost confused at the name before Ciel spat, "Ashe…"

It confirmed Eloise's suspicions before she threw off the cloak and said angrily, "Ashe does not represent the Queen, if you… the Inspector for Scotland Yard does not know that the Earl Grey directly serves under the Queen, looks like we have a little bit of a problem."

In her defiance, Eloise's head was spinning with suspicions as she tried to sort out what could possibly be happening.

Randall accused Ciel and stripped him of the title of authority brushing aside Eloise who fumed in anger. He held the gun up again and Ciel stepped back with a calculating look on his face when Randall mentioned a letter being held in his position.

When the word _torture_ rung in Eloise's head, alarm bells sounded and she dashed towards Ciel and shielded him with her body as the police officers surged forward. They were surrounded and Eloise brandished her large loop of Heavenly Keys as Dagger pulled out long throwing knives and had them all aligned with a target.

"Since I can't torture you," Randall said, "I think we can be alright if we tortured the servants instead." Eloise stiffened and as they surrounded Sebastian, she protected Ciel as hands went to grab her. "Do not touch me," she shouted furiously, flinging her arm out.

A large force came barrelling down the street and knocked the Officers trying to grab her and Dagger successfully knifed several men in the arms as they tried to grab her again. "Allow me" Sebastian offered, "I will come peacefully if you agree to let Miss Eloise, Mr McKinley and my Master go."

"That's quite a hefty choice," Randall growled and Dagger shouted from on top of the carriage, "I'll go as well! Just let the others two go. It will do you more harm than good, I can assure you."

"Dagger!" Eloise shouted, "Don't do this" she looked to Sebastian, "This is ludicrous" she tried to reason, "Don't let them hurt you, you should know better than this."

Her pleas went unheard and Sebastian stepped forward with a smirk, "Take care of the young Master will you?" he asked her before stepping into the Custody of the Police Officers, Dagger jumping down and doing the same.

Eloise shut her mouth knowing that they were not going to listen to her any further before she huddled Ciel behind her and ushered him down the street and out of view where she could see Dagger and Sebastian arrested in chains.

However, as she left, Randall glanced to Abberline, "Was that woman _flying_?"

* * *

><p>Come the next morning; Eloise and Ciel had been found by the young man the Enforcer Abberline. He offered them somewhere to stay. He knew that Eloise wasn't going to surrender the Earl without a fight and he wouldn't dare underestimate her because she was a woman either.<p>

He led them to a simple stone building in view of the building where Eloise knew that Dagger and Sebastian were being tortured and she couldn't help but cringe when she thought of it. No matter where she went, the trouble just seemed to escalate.

She wanted to protect Dagger from harm, first from Joker, only to return to London and have him hauled off and tortured under the order from the 'Queen.' Eloise had her suspicions about the one they called Ashe but she couldn't be pointing any fingers until she was certain.

Until then, she honoured Sebastian's wish and stuck by Ciel to make sure nobody tried to hurt him. Abberline bought Ciel some tea and Eloise stubbornly refused. He began to tell them his story about not having any parents and Eloise was about to snap that nobody cared when Ciel basically told him to shut up himself.

In a more logical, sounding way.

Come night-time, Eloise was sitting on the windowsill watching the building in front of her when she got a shiver down her spine. Ciel looked up at her from the paper he was writing on, "What is it?" he asked and Eloise stared out the window a moment more before she hissed, "She's here!"

Ciel didn't need any more confirmation, throwing away the paper. He grabbed his hat and cloak and together, the pair walked off into the twilight, with murder clearly on Eloise's mind.

…

"Ciel where do you think you are going?"

Eloise stopped, walking a pace in front of Ciel and turned around with fiery violet eyes to see a solemn looking Abberline. She looked anxiously back at the building before tapping her foot impatiently when the young Inspector tried to reason with Ciel.

A stupid thing to do really.

They continued to speak, Ciel brushed off Abberline and turned away, "I don't need anybody" he scoffed, "I am the one playing the game, all I need are my pieces. Even if I have three, two or one, it doesn't concern me. I will win."

"Why do you do all of this by yourself?" Abberline shouted, "Why don't you ask for help?"

"Because I don't need it" Ciel seethed back, "Like I said before, I don't need anybody on my side." He froze when Abberline suddenly shouted out from behind him, "I'll help you," he offered, with a genuine smile on his face, "I will be on your side."

Eloise shook her head and Ciel looked mortified at this remark, "Why do you do this?" he breathed and Eloise shrugged, "Maybe to say that you have allies in the most unlikely of places" she breathed.

Ciel looked up at her suddenly close proximity before Abberline nodded in agreement, "I'd say that she is right Ciel, you do have loyal friends and comrades, you just have to know where to look." He looked at Eloise, "May I enquire your name again Miss?"

"Eloise" she said softly, "Eloise Ivah, previously of the Noah's Ark Circus. Now if you'll excuse me…" she bent down back to Ciel, fixing the strands of navy hair around his face. "I have business to attend to. Promise me that you will stay with Abberline and keep out of danger until I return."

To add onto what she just said, Eloise pressed a soft kiss onto the Earl's temple, she felt him stiffen and his eye widened in surprise before she smiled, "Be safe Young Earl, just remember that Divinity is also on your side, you do not have to rely on the darkness alone."

…

Eloise's shadow loomed on the wall as she hovered past the low burning torches of torture chambers. It made her feel physically ill seeing all the devices used to inflict pain on others and she burned with rage, ready to pull limbs off if necessary.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to be around as she hovered down the hallway, her feathers snuffing out the light of the hallway, leaving nothing but blackness behind her. She honed in on her senses and instinctively came to a slightly ajar door and peered inside.

She saw Dagger strung up by chains almost crucified to the brickwork behind him. His clothes hung in tatters and the blood was dripping into a pool beneath his feet. His caramel hair was stained red with blood and he seemed to be sporting a new set of tattoos that would definitely scar over time. Poor Dagger was a mess.

Hearing somebody come in, Dagger lifted his head and Eloise saw one eye swollen shut and turning purple. Blood trickled from his mouth but he managed to give her a smile as she swept in.

"How did I know that you would eventually come and save my sorry backside?" he said, his voice hoarse from screaming. "Guess I can turn around and say that I have a Guardian Angel."

Eloise hovered over to him and held his chin up, her violet eyes staring into his green. "Please forgive me for what I am about to do Dagger, but I promise that everything will be alright. I'm going to get you out of here before I go and help Sebastian, I'll let you know that I will come back…"

"Ellie" Dagger's voice was solemn, "You do what you have to do, just come back to me in one piece alright." He looked down to her one leg before smiling back up at her, "Except that, I'm perfectly happy if you still come back with one leg."

Eloise gave him a soft smile, "I love you Dagger, I'm glad that I was given the chance to be with you. It's obvious that Joker wasn't the one who was intended for me and that's what the Archs knew, turned out, he was in front of me all along."

"I love you Ellie," Dagger murmured before Eloise cupped his face and inhaled in sharply as she absorbed all the pain that had been inflicted upon Dagger's body. She took away the pain into herself, feeling sick that Dagger had to endure this much for doing nothing."

Dagger's wounds healed into scars and the marks vanished, the only reminder that he had been wounded was the blood spatters across the room. Eloise shuddered in pain, biting back the urge to cry before drawing her face away from Dagger's and spitting out a glob of blood before wiping her face and smiling back at Dagger weakly.

"Haven't done that in a little while" she admitted with a tiny smile, Dagger looked mortified at what she had just did to him and Eloise could only shrug, "It's something that only Guardians can do, but if we are reckless with this power, it could cost us our own life, despite being a Follower of God."

She unhooked the irons with a sharp flash of light and Dagger fell to the stone and flexed his wrists. "I want you to get out of here," Eloise whispered to him, "There is nobody patrolling the chambers and I left the back trapdoor open, wait for me please and heavens forbid, don't get caught!"

Dagger nodded and he left through the doors that Eloise gestured out before she turned around and gave the room a heated glance, torture was a disgusting way to obtain information. She waited until she felt Dagger's presence leave the building before she left the room to go and seek Sebastian.

The air around her seemed to tighten with white electricity and her pupils went milky white with the power that she was gathering up inside her. What she was going to do was going to wipe half of her spirit and she would never be able to get it back.

Sebastian's door was locked but void of any humans when she burst the door in with force. The heavy wooden door flew across the room and slammed against the brick, knocking down several steel instruments, sending them clattering to the stone floor.

She hovered in, gazing around the room when she saw Sebastian crucified very much like the way Dagger had been, Except, the demon was in a lot worse shape than what the human had been.

"Never thought I would see you like this" Eloise smirked, talking in an ethereal double voice. "Whatever happened to being the noble Butler? The one that was always so pristine and ever so confident in his abilities?"

Sebastian only smirked at her, his pale face streaked with old and fresh blood. "Obviously the Butler is strung up on the brick wall waiting for a _miracle _to happen?"

"Oh cut the crap" Eloise said, "You are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself Sebastian. Why suffer at the hands of humans, you could have easily escaped and avoided all of this. Why did I have to come and break you out?"

"It was the will of my Young Lord," Sebastian said, "I shall come at his heeding call, I can handle this pain, what sort of Butler would I be if I couldn't?"

Eloise sighed; hovering close to the Demon and unlocking the chains making him land of the stones. "What Ciel had done was silly and we shouldn't have offered ourselves up for torture. He has currently found himself an Ally in Scotland Yard, much to his _apparent _disgust. While I'm here, floating through grime and blood saving the ones I care about."

"An Ally… in Scotland Yard?" Sebastian questioned as Eloise floated back down to earth and putting her weight on her one foot. She nodded, "Yeah, the young one named Abberline. Gave him a place to stay and kept an eye on him so Randall wouldn't get to him."

"Well…" Sebastian said, brushing down the tatters of his coat and shirt, "That can be described as admirable I suppose. So…" he looked back up to her glowing form and pale eyes, "The Angel Angela is back, but I think you already know that. She is in London and the one that did most of this damage."

Eloise shook her head in disgust, "I always knew that she hadn't been killed in the Abbey, its takes a lot more to end the life of a divine being. She will get her punishment in due time, when the Arch's find it suitable to punish her for the crimes she had committed."

There was silence between them for a moment before Eloise looked up at Sebastian with milky eyes, sighing heavily and lifting her hands to the Demon's head.

Then, she bought his head crashing to hers, locking their lips together in a fiery lock.

'_He'd better be grateful for this' _she thought venomously, _'I can't believe I am actually helping this jerk, especially after the way he's treated me…'_

Sebastian seemed to know exactly what to do the moment he kissed her; he gave her a lot more passion that what she had anticipated. He held her head to his, his bloodstained fingers locking into her tresses.

Their bodies bumped together, the blood on Sebastian's body coming off and staining Eloise's clothes further. His other arm snaked around her lower waist and held her in an iron grip.

The air around them began to tense and the stones seemed to shudder under the power that was building in the stone torture room. The air was palpable and it could almost give one to think that the room would implode at the sudden build-up of power.

She felt herself weakening, her head becoming cloudy and less focused. As Sebastian released her of their kiss of doom, Eloise was trying to find the strength to keep afloat, her milky irises going a shade of indigo rather than violet.

She would suffer the effects later on, for now, she had to lay down. She looked around the dark room, her vision clouding before Sebastian's hand came out and grasped hers, his grin toothy and devilish.

"I think you may be the second or third Angel in all of existence to willingly give up a portion of their soul to a Demon Eloise. Why the sudden compassion? I had the inkling though that you hated me?"

"I didn't do it for you" Eloise said heatedly, "I done it for the young man out there who will sooner than later regret giving his soul up to a demon. He may see himself as some lethal Over Lord but in all, he is still a child."

She felt her stomach heave and Eloise said softly, trying to cover her mouth, "Now…I have to get out of here before I vomit."


	28. The Underworld

**Well yeah...Mass update with what I had. **

**I know its been a long time... A very long time, but I saw all my files sitting there and thought 'Why not.'**

**Get this over and done with**

* * *

><p>Eloise was hunched over the shrubs lining the dark building as Dagger watched anxiously. He sent constant gazes between the Demon and the Angel before breaking the silence, "What did she do?"<p>

Sebastian, being the pristine Demon he was, had already fixed his suit and stood nobly behind Eloise, holding her hair out of the way so she wouldn't get vomit in her long tresses. But what was making Dagger slowly more alarmed was the fact that one of Eloise's large, silver wings was slowly turning a shade of ebony.

Sebastian could only smirk at Dagger before he said in his smooth voice, "Being a demon that devours ones soul to sustain nourishment was an essential part of my life. It was why I formed contracts with humans, ones with souls that are worthy enough so I could eat them and keep going about my duties."

Dagger looked uncertain, his eyes raking over the hunched form of Eloise, half hidden by her large wings. "What does this have to do with Eloise" he asked uncertainly, "She didn't give you her soul did she?"

Sebastian shook his head, "Of course not, well…not all of it. Eloise is what we in the Underworld call a _Divine Being. _If such one comes to Earth and associates with Demons or other creatures of the Darkness and offers as little as a portion of their soul, it is enough to abolish our hunger for as long as we live."

Dagger felt his gut clench, watching Eloise's wing steadily grow blacker, covering the brilliant silver it had once been. "At cost of ruining her own life" he said bitterly, "Look what she sacrificed for you! She won't be able to go back to Heaven."

"Wouldn't you rather have her stay on Earth?" Sebastian asked, his crimson eyes glowing more brilliantly than before. "I think it would be against her own happiness if she was forced back up there with the other Angels."

Dagger went silent, wanting to go over there and comfort Eloise who was still retching into the bushes, her feathers slowly dropping from her wings. Of course, he wouldn't want her leaving everyone behind, she had made too many friends, had a family who appreciated her and was even respected by a Demon.

"What does that make her to you?" he asked the Demon softly, Sebastian chuckled, "Comrade? Or something a little more than that, her wing? It's going black you see… It's a sign that she has gone to the darkness, her white magic will quickly manifest into that of blackness. She will be chased for the rest of her days because she relieved me of my own burdens. But I can at least vow that I can protect her, since we're bound by the same soul and all."

There was another moment of silence before Sebastian said to Dagger, "The Underworld is a dark place Mr McKinley and it is one you do not want to wander in unprepared. Miss Eloise knows the consequences and I suggest you don't go blindly following her into situations either, it will only get you killed."

* * *

><p>The shadows slinked around her as she hobbled down the road early the next morning; she had left Dagger in the care of Sebastian since they were apparently still in the torture chambers. Word will get out sooner than later about their disappearance but by then, hopefully, everything would have fixed itself up and Ciel could be cleared.<p>

Her life was slipping away, the shadows infecting her mind. She was losing faith not only in the Heavens, but in herself. She had failed in being a Divine Guardian Angel and had come to earth and mixed in with the darkness, she now associated with _Demons._

She had things to do, things that she had to fix before her life crumbled away to nothing. The clouds were stirring and the light was chasing the shadows away, the ones she cared about were going to be in the line of target.

* * *

><p>"She has gone back to London you see" the sly woman's voice came out, "She has decided to abandon you and she went with the one you considered <em>Family<em>… How does that make you feel?"

The shadows flickered on the wall, the fire leaving a luminous glow on the surrounding buildings. "If you like… I can tell you exactly where she is and what her weaknesses are… you just have to agree to one of my requests."

There was a scuffle in response and the voice came out, "I'll give you everything you need to know. She is a clever one and knows how to escape from tight situations, being a Guardian Angel she has uncanny abilities but I know her biggest weakness…"

"Dagger?" the voice was hinting on a sneer.

"No…" the woman's voice chuckled, "Surprisingly not…It's the Earl Phantomhive and on the side…That Demon Butler."

"Demon?"

"Yes…They've paired up don't you see, the first Angel to ever pair up with a demon and cooperate ever so well with each other, it makes two side of the same coin. It's almost lovely don't you think? If we have enough persuasion, we can have the whole Underworld…"

"What do you want me to do? Stop the talking."

"Oh all you have to do is get that meddling Angel away, she is all yours. After that you can do whatever you want. I just need a path to get to the Earl, then everything can finally be…purified."

* * *

><p>"So where is Eloise?"<p>

Dagger could only sit back against the stone bench and stare at the other servants of the Phantomhive Manor. He shrugged, avoiding as much eye contact as he could. "I'm not sure" he muttered, "She stayed back in London to do some personal things, I really don't know."

"Well I though' she was just a servant jus' like the rest of us" Bard said, chewing on the filter of his cigarette, "Why does she get special treatment if the rest of us don't?"

"I wouldn't call it special treatment" Finni argued, "Maybe she does have special things to do and maybe the Young Master granted it, unlike most of us, she might still have family or something."

"Trickster was always very secretive…says Emily" Snake whispered from behind everybody else. "When she turned up at the circus, she didn't say anything to us at all. Joker finally took her under his wing and that's how she came to be…says Bronte."

"Whatever Miss Eloise has decided to do in London will be brief and she will be back monetarily."

The sharp voice belonged to Sebastian who had stridden into the kitchen to see the Servants sitting around speaking. "Now as we speak" Sebastian said in disapproval, "The Young Master has planned a trip to Paris. We will assist him in packing his belongings so he can set out first thing in the morning."

"A-Alright" the Servants scrambled up to their feet, nodding their head and scrambling past Sebastian and leaving him quite alone with Dagger who sat against the wall looking blank and lost.

"What is she doing Sebastian?" Dagger asked monotonously, turning his head to look at the immaculately dressed Butler, "You of all people would know what she is up to, if it's concerning people like _you_. You would definitely know."

Sebastian only smirked down to him, "It is something to do with beings like _me_, so humans like you should not interfere. But if you insist to know, there is no harm in telling you since there is no way you could interfere anyway."

He turned to the Ex Cirque sitting against the stone wall, "Eloise is dragging herself to the Gates of the Underworld to see if she can get any information on bringing down this Angel of 'Massacre' without the Underworld Officials contacting the Archangels of Heaven."

"She could get herself killed!" Dagger shouted, sitting forward and glaring at Sebastian. "She gave up her Angel Divinity to help _you_. She'll be seen as filth, why would you let her go by herself? The Arch Angels won't spare her a chance once they realise that she has fallen beyond the stage of being a _Fallen _Angel."

"The correct term is _Nephilim_ I believe," Sebastian said holding up a finger and silencing Dagger, "And I have no power over what the Arch Angels decide to do to with Eloise, they could take one glance to all of us and deem us a threat."

Dagger sat back unable to think of anything relevant to say and when Sebastian knew this, the Demon only smirked and walked from the Kitchen. "Now I expect your jobs to be done Mr McKinley, I think I may be able to entrust the Mansion to your care without destroying it."

Dagger crinkled his nose in distaste and Sebastian could only leave the Kitchen with a sly grin on his face and leave the Ex Cirque in the stone kitchen by himself.

* * *

><p>"Come on, I'm not screwing around here, just let me in will you?"<p>

Eloise leant against the stonewall, illuminated by candles gasping for air as the air around her became palpable. Her face was drenched in sweat, her hair in tangles around her face and her eyes wide and glazed.

"_State your Race and business and I'll consider opening the gate for you."_

Eloise gazed at the ancient, crumbling skull handing from a hooked piece of wire connected to the stones, the anger burning away her chest. The skull had its eyeballs roll back before the irises came back and focused on her, the jaw clacking together noisily as the person on the other side spoke to her.

"Look" Eloise argued with the old skull, "I'm here to speak to somebody about a Rogue Angel, she is causing trouble all over London and I have to find the best way to annihilate her without the Arch's finding out!"

"_As I said before, state your Race…Otherwise I won't let you in. It's not that hard."_

"Fine" Eloise shouted at the skull, its eyeballs whizzing around in the eye sockets. "Here! Do you need any more proof? I'm an In-Between! Is that good enough to be let in?"

Her wings stretched out as far as they could go in the narrow alley, one glistening silver and the other, black as night.

"_Part Nephilim…" _The skull cackled, shaking on its hook with laughter, _"How interesting, now have you even registered with the Underworld?"_

"Don't start" Eloise threatened, "I have only just become this monster helping out a Demon! Now let me in so I can do my damned business so I can get out and not deal with this mess again."

The skull rattled and the eyes disappeared from the eye sockets and a bright light filled the alley before black smoke spewed from the opening gate. The ground crumbled away to reveal a flight of stairs and Eloise grumbled as she climbed down them, "'Bout bloody time!"

The Underworld was an entirely different place from Heaven, Hell or even the Human Plane. It was sort of a go-between for Supernatural creatures to live in relative safety without being discovered by humans.

It was the Between place for Dark Creatures to go and this is where Eloise now sadly belonged in. When the human plane was sealed off behind her, Eloise stepped off the stairs and looked up to see an entire city parallel to London.

Instantly, she felt the hairs at the back of her neck prickle, she hid her wings as Demons, Vampires and Werewolves surrounded her. She took in a deep breath and began to walk down the streets looking for the large Underworld Chambers on where the authorities were. She only hoped that she wasn't too late.

…

"State your business."

The Demon behind the counter looked incredibly bored, his red eyes looking right over Eloise's head as she stood at the counter. Eloise cleared her throat and said in her best authoritative voice, "I'm here to speak to an Underworld Official concerning Angels?"

The Demon was only a young one, not a Demon of sophistication like Sebastian. His small black horns protruded from his temples and his fingernails were small black claws that grew from the skin.

"There's nothing to report" the Demon said with a sigh, "The Officials already know what's going on with the Angels on Earth, they have taken action so expect everything to be fixed momentarily…thankyou and have a '_great_' day."

"Wait" Eloise demanded, slamming her hands on the wooden counter making the Demon stare up at her with his mouth slightly ajar. His red eyes were dull and bored as he regarded her, "I said have a great day" he emphasised.

"I need to know if the Arch's have been notified" Eloise demanded, "My life is possibly at stake here because I decided to help scum like you. Can you tell me?"

"If you're here" the Demon said, looking to his claws and inspecting them, "You can't be anymore 'scum-like' than what I already am. And I already told you what I tell all civilians when they come here with petty problems."

"No!"

Eloise extended out her wings for the second time within twenty minutes and showed the Demon, "I'm half _Nephilim _and a Guardian Angel! The Angel I am dealing with is the Angel of Massacre and she will destroy everything in the name of the Lord. Which means all of you can be at stake as well."

"Why should I care on what you are?" the Demon drawled, looking unimpressed with her display of wings. "You're a Fallen, so what? You broke the law and now you are stuck down here with the rest of us."

He sat back in his chair, plonking his feet up on the counter before he said simply, "And if you are so desperate to know, the Arch's were notified long ago about _two _rouge Angels and will descending momentarily. So if you do value your life, you'd stay down here and not go gallivanting around thinking you're something special. Now…have a **great **_**day."**_

Eloise pouted and turned heel from the smartass Demon and strode from the dark building, tucking her wings from sight and looking for the exit that led out to London. "What a waste of time" she growled, "All I was trying to do was help and I get treated like that."

Eloise looked around the dark courtyard where she saw a small podium with teleportation crystals. She strode towards it, avoiding the gazes she was receiving from the other dark creatures around her.

She went to the podium and placed her hand on a crystal which began to glow from her magical power. "London" she said. Then the crystal began to glow purple and everything around her began to melt away.

Then after a moment of utter blackness, Eloise saw the familiar, narrow alley manifest before her and she saw the skull hanging from the wire hook.

"_Have a nice day" _it cackled at her, _"Just to let you know, the time flows differently in the Underworld, you could be there for no longer than ten minutes and a whole day could have passed on the Human Plane. Enjoy."_

"Well how bloody brilliant" Eloise grumbled, "I think…I think I should just go home and rest my foot for a day. It was hard enough trying to hobble around and keep my wings hidden at the same time."

With a groan, Eloise opened her wings again and hovered up to the sky until the buildings shrank beneath her and she was floating above the lights of London. She knew it was nice to be back up in the air and feeling the breeze underneath her wings, but for some reason, she felt like a bird, a bird trapped in a cage and she wasn't able to get out.

* * *

><p>"Miss Eloise! Is that you?"<p>

Eloise sat back on the porcelain steps of the Mansion watching the stars twinkle above her, she turned her head back to see the upside down figure of Finni standing on the steps. His large blue eyes widened as he saw her dishevelled form and he came over to her, his eyes searching for whoever had hurt her.

"I'm fine Finni" Eloise chuckled tiredly, "It's been a long couple of days and there is not much you can do when you haven't had any sleep. Anyway, where's Sebastian and Ciel?" She couldn't even muster the strength to sit up as Finni replied.

"The Young Master and Sebastian went to Paris for a trip, they left only yesterday but I do think they will be returning momentarily." Finni helped her sit up on the stairs before realising that she only had one leg.

"What happened?" he squawked, "I knew you got hurt, your leg is gone!" He pulled her to her foot with his super strength and draped her arms around his shoulders, "I'll help you inside" he offered, a small smile on his face, "It's the least I can do; I can't leave you out here whilst you're like this."

He helped her inside; Eloise was greeted by the looming darkness of the Mansion. Somehow, without Sebastian or Ciel, it seemed eerily empty. She winced in pain as Finni tried to prop her up so he could take her up the stairs and the young Gardener quickly apologised and asked if he could do anything to ease her pain.

With a long sigh, Eloise instructed him to take her to her bedroom. She was tired, she was dirty and all she wanted to do was sink down into her bathtub and wash away all the grime that had congregated not only on her body but on her soul as well.

Finni did what he was told and helped her to her bedroom; he opened the door and led her in before sitting her down on the bed and staring down at her form anxiously. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" he murmured.

Eloise shook her head tiredly, her hand running through her hair and hitting a rather large knot. "Thankyou Finni, I really appreciate it. After you leave, you can do one more thing for me?"

Finni nodded his head like an obedient puppy and it could only make the Angel smile wearily, "Can you tell Dagger that I'm up here? He'd be worried sick about me and it will make him happy when he finds out that I'm here again."

She yawned widely and Finni gave her a soft smile, "I can do that" he held out his hand, "After all, you are my friend right? Us servants have to stick together and keep the Young Master safe. I wouldn't want this to change at all."

The Gardener left her bedroom and closed the door softly behind him and Eloise grabbed hold of her bed post and hobbled up to her one foot and maneuverered her way through the bedroom to get through to the small bathroom that lie ahead.

She reached the tiled bedroom, saw the tall-lipped bathtub, hobbled the rest of the way to it, and turned the taps on, sighing in relief when she saw the steam start to rise up from the hot water.

She was so tired; she couldn't even start to think straight. She looked to the small bottles of scented oils on the side of the tub and couldn't even read the small print on the labels. Instead, she blindly reached out and knocked a purple glass into the water. The strong scent of lavender reached nose and the water instantly began to foam and bubble.

She pulled off her tattered garments, her long white limbs streaked with dirt and blood. She discarded the dress onto the tiles and climbed into the steaming bath, she felt her body start to relax as she sat down.

She couldn't even remember if Dagger came into the bathroom or even her bedroom. Everything was a thick fog around her and the darkness was quick to consume her.

* * *

><p>She awoke with a start, her eyes wide when she saw the drapes of the window closed and blocking off the sunlight.<p>

Slowly, her mind ticked back into place and began to work again. She was in her bed; the last thing she remembered was getting into the bathtub. So she tried to recall what had happened but her memories came to a dead halt and she couldn't remember a thing.

Slowly, she rolled from her side and to her back, looked down to her left and couldn't help but smile when she saw the exhausted face of Dagger, sound asleep beside her. When she moved however, it jostled the Ex-Cirque from his slumber and his green eyes were wide and filled with shock when they opened.

But when he focused on her, an exhausted smile flashed across his face and he slowly sat up. "You're finally awake" he chuckled, "You've been asleep for almost two days Ellie, you must have been absolutely exhausted. I was beginning to worry if you were going to wake up or not."

Eloise reached her hand up and brushed Dagger's pale cheek, forever tattooed from the circus and whispered, "Thankyou Dagger, what would I have done without you?" she let her hand drop back to the blankets and Dagger took it as an invite to lean over her slightly, his breath tickling her hair.

"You fell asleep in the bathtub; you were fast asleep despite me running up those bloody stairs after Finni told me you had come home. I hope you don't mind, I promise I didn't look at anything."

"No" Eloise smiled, "There is nobody else I would have trusted other than you Dagger. I can't…I can't thank you enough for everything you have done. It makes me feel…feel worthless because I haven't done anything for you."

Dagger smiled down at her, his fingers coming up and tucking some strands of hair behind her ear. "Don't say that" he whispered, his face serious. "You came back to London for me…no… for _us_. You saved me from that Chamber and risked your life to make sure I would be safe. I feel like the luckiest man on earth… That's until we have to face Joker again."

"We'll make it last" Eloise breathed, "Whatever time we have left, we will make the most of it. I promise you, I'm not going to let anybody hurt the ones I love." She set her jaw stubbornly before letting her face fall gracefully into a smile when Dagger lowered his head and gently kissed her.

"I love you Ellie," he muttered, his hand stroking her hair.

"Dagger…" Eloise choked, her emotions clogging her chest and tears burning the back of her eyes, "I…love you." Her hands snaked up from the quilt covers and she tangled her fingers in Dagger's lengthening caramel and black tresses. "I'm not going to lose you, that…I will promise you."


	29. Disaster

It began early that morning when Bard and Eloise heard the fires of gunshots from the ceilings of the Manor.

"Arh wha' now?" Bard growled, throwing down the cooking utensils in his hand, "Can't we at least get something done while the Young Master is away?" He stepped back from the stone counter and Eloise sat helplessly in the chair, "What can I do to help?"

"Well you aint gunna do much with one leg!" Bard said, grabbing another cigarette from the shirt pocket and simply placing it in his mouth, "Sorry ta sound harsh but you can stay here and finish of the chores to do around here. I'm sure we can handle ourselves out there, we have dun' it before."

Bard left the kitchen and left a flustered Eloise sitting in the chair at the counter, she looked over her shoulder and saw Bard leave as the gunshots sounded and Pluto's roar echoed throughout the trees followed by screams of terrified men.

"One leg?" Eloise raged to herself, staring at the counter incredulously, "That doesn't mean I'm useless! Who does the jerk think he is? I'm perfectly fine to fight the intruders. I just can't show my wings…"

Eloise trailed off before the dark reality sunk in and she let her head fall into her hands and the hopeless mutter filled the kitchen, "Am I really that useless that they don't even need me to defend the house? What was I thinking…such a fool!"

* * *

><p>Dagger stood high in the tree with his green eyes narrowed in determination as the swarms of men splayed out all over the terrace. Whilst the other servants preferred to use their guns, Dagger wanted to be out on the field and use his lethal knives to fell them.<p>

After all, he was an Assassin, trained to blend in and swiftly kill their prey before the others even knew what hit them.

He was the first line of defence, Mey-Rin being the first as well with her hawk-like vision with her rifles and Snake being able to hide in the shadows and direct his snakes for the lethal blow to bring a man to his knees before they even reached the walls.

Bard was the second, with his own arsenal of weapons and guns able to fire from afar and not be seen as they broke through Mey-Rin.

And usually, Dagger, Finni and Eloise were the third lines, able to protect the walls and pick off the people that had broken through the gunfire and try to sneak into the Manor. With Eloise out of action, it was up to Dagger as Finni chased the people away whilst riding on Pluto.

Dagger's long cloak billowed out behind him and with lethal precision, he saw a man run up to the wall of the Manor, his chest heaving from the exertion of trying to run away from the onslaught of Pluto and Finni.

"You aren't getting any closer" he hissed before hurling his knives and decorating the man's limbs with the jewelled weapons before jumping from the branch of the tree and slicing the man's throat before he even got to see who had attacked him.

Quickly, Dagger pulled his knives out and ducked around the walls to see where else he could hide and take out the rare people who actually reached the Manor. He jumped on the back of another trespasser, killing him in a spurt of blood, making the body fall to the grass with a gurgle before going on his way.

However, before he could on his merry way and continue, there was a sudden sharp pain in his shoulder and Dagger saw the spray of blood fly upwards. He clutched his arm, his muscles tensing in pain as he looked behind him and saw a trespasser in the shadows of the tree holding a gun before running out and tackling the wounded Dagger to the grass.

Dagger was knocked off his feet, his fingers slipping with his knives as the pain lanced throughout his shoulder. He grit his teeth angrily and struggled with the man before hissing up at him menacingly.

"Don't think you can get away with shooting me like a coward. You aren't going to make it past me, I swore I was going to protect this Manor and the people that live in it. Your run ends here!"

"Oh really?" the man chuckled darkly, "This coming from the one that is stuck underneath me with a gun to his head. Don't make me laugh, I can pull this trigger right now and the contents of your head will spray all over this grass. It will be an end to your miserable life as you know it."

Unbeknownst to the man pinning Dagger to the grass, the arm that he wasn't aware of grabbed hold of one of the jewelled knives and there was a howl of pain that echoed out throughout the trees as Dagger plunged the knife deep into the side of the man's calf.

A gunshot rung out and Dagger froze momentarily as the grass and dirt inches from his head sprayed all over him before regaining his sense and kicking the man off him and in turn, pinned him to the grass.

The knife glinted in his hand and with wild eyes; Dagger began to plunge the knife down repeatedly into the man until he was no more. But there was no stopping Dagger, he continued to stab wildly, the blood being swung up into the air and falling back down, decorating the Ex-Cirque in a blanket of red.

His breaths came in rapid gasps, his green eyes narrowed into slits as he stabbed repeatedly. A splatter of blood stained his cheek and with a savage growl he hissed down to the corpse. "Look at the one stuck beneath me! Gone! Dead…You messed with the wrong man."

Stuck in his murderous stupor, Dagger didn't realise that the man he had just brutally killed had an accomplice and he was the one that got into the Manor.

* * *

><p>Eloise could hear the intruder long before she could see them, the way they fumbled as they tried to search the house. The harried footsteps and the opening and closing of the doors down the halls.<p>

Anger had boiled through her to the extent that she was seeing red; this intruder wasn't going to get very far, especially on her watch.

With this particular person, she wasn going to let them escape and she didn't care whether or not they saw her wings, they weren't going to escape alive anyway. Even if he did, who would believe a loon babbling about an Angel?

Leaving the stone sanctuary of the kitchens, Eloise glided up the stairs and to the first floor of the Mansion, following her keen sense of hearing to direct her to the intruder that was on the second floor of the house.

The slamming of doors continued and rung through her ears, her vision darkening as she rounded the corner of the hall and saw the shaking man, kicking down the doors and pointing a gun into each room.

The power rippled around Eloise and the whole hallway seemed to tremble, it succeeded in drawing the man's attention. His eyes widened at the sight of her and he thrust the gun in front of him and babbled wildly, "What the hell are you? I'll shoot you!"

Eloise continued to build her power, he dust in the floors began to rise up and swirl around her and her wings bristled out in a fierce manner before her eerie double voice rung out around the hall.

"**Who do you think you are intruding in this Manor?"**

She began to advance, her odd coloured wings stretching out either side of her and brushing the walls that surrounded her. The man continued to tremble, as if he had forgotten to pull the trigger, he stood there dumbfounded.

Eloise was able to see herself reflected in his eyes and she tried not to let the image ingrain in her brain at the savagery that seemed to be pouring off of her as she went to go murder this man.

Her hands reached out, there was a jingle of large long keys and Eloise simply floated on the spot with wide, opaque eyes as the blood spurted up and streaked across the gown she was wearing.

The man fell with a loud 'thump' the wooden floorboards and Eloise felt the bloodlust rising in her chest until it started to become unbearable. Her wings faltered and she fell back to one foot and fell against the small table that was in the hall.

Her chest began to heave and Eloise choked down on the laughter that seemed to be bubbling up inside her chest as she saw the man in pieces in front of her.

Usually an Angel of her previous stature would cringe at the sight and bless the body before sending his soul up to Heaven, but Eloise had started to lose her light and the darkness was quickly taking over her.

Whether she liked it or not, the _Nephilim _Dark Magic would start to corrode her soul and she wouldn't be the same Eloise ever again.

* * *

><p>"You got <em>shot<em>!"

Eloise watched with wide eyes as Dagger stripped off his cloak and shirt and letting them fall around his feet as he looked at his body in the large mirror.

Eloise's eyes went as round as dinner plates when she saw the nasty gunshot wound that splayed right around Dagger's tattooed upper half. His shoulder was going a blotchy black and blue and she threw her hands up in exasperation.

"What do you expect me to do? I'm not a Doctor Dagger! There's a bullet in there!" she began to tug on the strands of her long hair as she fretted over the wound and Dagger looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"I know you aren't a Doctor Ellie," he explained, his face twisting a little as he tried to rotate his injured shoulder, "But being an Angel and all, I thought you might be able to help get the _bullet _out? You don't have to fully heal me, just get the damned thing out!"

She frowned, "Don't keep expecting me to draw upon my powers Dagger" she said disapprovingly, "In the state I'm in at the moment, my powers are more likely to bring harm than help those who need it."

In the mirror, she watched Dagger gaze up and his eyes followed along the raven coloured wing that was tucked behind her. "Is it because of that?" he asked bluntly and Eloise couldn't help but go slightly pink before chuffing out and folding her arms across her chest.

"Do you want me to help you or not?" she said in a slightly louder voice than what she had intended.

"Well yeah!" Dagger frowned into the mirror, his green eyes narrowing. "What do you expect me to think? You threw away what you had to help Sebastian at the risk of your own life! Now you're paying the price, do you want me to stand back and watch you sink into the darkness?"

"I already have" Eloise growled, stomping forward and stretching her hand out over Dagger's shoulder, "There's nothing you can do Dagger, I done it on my own free will, I accepted the consequences and I will live with it."

"I prefer I if you didn't be so reckless" Dagger said back, his voice getting louder and annoyed, "I won't be able to live with myself if I just stood back and watched you fade away because of something that we could have prevented."

"You're only human…" came the next response.

"Wait…Excuse me?"

Eloise stared at Dagger's face through the mirror and she said heatedly, "I said you're only human Dagger. You aren't a Supernatural, given a few decades, you'll get old and you will die. I won't change Dagger; I'll be the one watching _you _fade away."

The bathroom went silent and Dagger's eyes finally lowered, "You're right" he finally relented, "I'm going to die one day Eloise, it's going to be like a blink of an eye for you. You'll move on and it will be like I never existed after a decade of so."

His low voice struck a chord with Eloise, who felt the guilt bubbling up inside her at the harsh words she had uttered. True, this had been something she had been dwelling on for a while and how she would cope with Dagger aging and eventually dying along with everyone else she had come close to.

She hadn't meant for it to sound so harsh and obviously, it was a sore spot for Dagger as well. He had been thinking about it as well and for such a subject to be thrown around callously, it very much hurt both of them.

"I'm sorry…"

Eloise focused on the small amount of power building up in her palm before it began to glow an eerie red before Dagger's skin began to contort and ripple beneath the light of her hand. Dagger winced, a hiss of pain escaping him and Eloise saw streams of new blood go streaming down his back and arm.

Slowly but surely, the fragments of the bullet began to emerge out of his shoulder, being drawn to her palm like a magnet. It sprouted new wounds across Dagger's flesh as they were drawn out and Eloise couldn't help but feel a little shocked at how much a bullet could fragment once inside the body.

Blood dripped onto Dagger's pants and spots began to fall on the wooden floors around where he was sitting. Eloise made sure every last piece was out before clenching her open hand around the metal fragments and dumping them on the bathroom basin with metallic 'clinks and clanks.'

She quickly raced to get some coverings for Dagger's bleeding wounds and this left the Ex-Cirque to reach forward and grab the largest bullet fragment coated in his blood and admire it.

His shoulder hurt like hell and his muscles felt like they were on fire. The air began to dry the blood and he felt it quickly clotting over his wounds and turning crusty the longer Eloise was away.

He looked at the multiple fragments on the counter before putting the one he was holding back with the others.

"She's right" he muttered hopelessly, "I'm going to die one day, I won't be able to guarantee that it would be from old age either."

He looked at his reflection in the mirror, "Am I just getting in her way because I'm so vulnerable? _Because I'm a human_?" He frowned at his reflection and then to the blood that had rolled down from his shoulder and streamed across his chest, "I'm _weak_, no wonder she chose to be on the side of that blasted Demon, at least he would be able to take care of himself in a situation like this. I'd just die and it would affect her worse than anybody…"

"So she has teamed up with that Demon after all" a new voice chimed in.

"Wouldn't blame her though, she has already gotten herself into too much trouble and she doesn't need dead weight hanging off her."

Dagger jerked his head up, hearing the familiar voice ring around the bathroom. His eyes narrowed and he let a hiss escape through his teeth when he saw the very familiar form of Joker lounging on the sill of the bathroom window.

Dagger lurched forward despite the sharp pains in his shoulders and hurled one of his throwing knives towards the redhead. Its aim was true but Dagger drew back in mild shock when Joker simply raised a normal _human _arm and caught the knife in between his index and middle fingers, holding it up so Dagger could see.

"I know your tricks" Joker stated calmly, slipping off the windowsill and walking towards the Ex-Cirque, "There's no point in trying to fight me, I'm here for Eloise so if you stand down and give me what I want, I will leave you _alive_."

"I'm not giving you Eloise," Dagger snarled, his lip turning up over his teeth. "Whatever you want to do, you won't succeed. I won't let you take her and neither will Ciel or Sebastian."

At the mere mention of the pair, Joker's mouth turned up in a sneer, baring his white teeth at Dagger before spitting.

"I have no interest in what you or those _two _are going to do to. I'm here to take what is rightfully mine and you will step down and give me what I want!"

"No!"

The horrified voice of Eloise rung across the bathroom, both Dagger and Joker looked her way as the Angel tossed the coverings for Dagger's wounds onto the tiles. Her violet eyes narrowed and Joker looked her up and down.

"What happened to your wings?" he asked incredulously, his pain laced with disappointment when he caught sight of the raven wing tucked behind her shoulders, "You gave up your purity" he seemed to scold sadly, "My angel…"

"I'm not _your _angel" Eloise spat, her hands flickering to the sides of her gown and giving Dagger a desperate glance, making sure he was alright before she decided to launch an attack.

"I have told you Joker, what happened between us is _over_. Times change and acting selfishly is not going to get you anywhere. If you want anything to do with me, you are going to have to fight me Joker. There is no other way about it."

"I have no intention of hurting you here," Joker said to her, his face dark with disappointment, "I cannot waste my strength on you when you are simply throwing a tantrum."

The way he was speaking, it gave Eloise the impression that he had done something and whatever it was; he did not intend to stick around. She drew back, her violet eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What have you done Joker?" she whispered, "You've done something and you do not want any part of it. Who have you teamed up with?"

As soon as the question left her lips, Eloise wished that she hadn't said anything. Because she knew the answer right away and it didn't make it any better that Joker's face had turned up into a smirk as she realised it as well.

"Don't you like it Ellie?" he asked, holding up an arm that was distinctively human, "It was the one that had been cut off by that Demon companion of yours…Do you not remember?"

Eloise cringed uncomfortably when she recalled the memories, then looking at the arm sent a wave of dread over her. She clenched her fists several times before attempting to say something before stopping herself and looking at Dagger unhelpfully.

"It used to be Doll's."

At the remark uttered by the red head, both Dagger and Eloise snapped their heads up and stared at the arm that Joker had put on display. They could both see that the arm was a slightly different colour and distinctly more feminine than rest of Joker's body.

"You got _her_ to…" Eloise couldn't even bring herself to finish a sentence before the next one came tumbling out, "You killed… how _could you_?"

"And here you were spouting on how much the circus and your family meant to you!" Dagger spat in disgust, "The pain and the tears you shed over us when you thought we had been obliterated!"

"I used to care" Joker said monotonously, "It used to eat away at my insides like acid and I used to worry every day after I had found out what the brat had did to you all. But now…I couldn't care less, I only care about what _I _want and I will get them by _any _means necessary."

He raised both of his hands this time, one human and one skeletal, the air around him began to wave and twist around him eerily.

"I suggest you come with me Eloise," he said in a warning tone, "I am telling you now that you will suffer if you decide to stay. This isn't a War that _you _should involve yourself in. You will only lose."

"You have to get past me!" Dagger exclaimed, stepping forward despite his injuries in his upper quadrant area, "You have caused far too much trouble already Joker and if anybody should bring you down, it should be me!"

"I grow bored of these tough guy remarks," Joker said with a roll of his eyes, "Be gone with you Dagger. He gestured his arm out towards the Marksman and Eloise let a cry escape her before Joker could hurl Dagger across the room.

Joker paused and raised a brow at the Angel before she stepped forward, sending an apologetic glance to Dagger.

"Do not hurt him" she pleaded, "Please, I'll go with you and help you with whatever you want. Just don't hurt the people I care about."

Dagger looked betrayed and Joker looked triumphant at getting what he had wanted.

He drew his hands back together, a low chuckle escaping him.

"Well now" he said ominously, bringing his hands back together and making the air twist upwards towards the ceiling, "I guess all this leaves is this…"

From outside, clouds suddenly obscured what little sunlight there was, followed by an earth-rattling rumble that seemed to shake the entire Phantomhive Manor.

Then, from the terraces…Pluto roared.


	30. Ashen Blood

"I would have never thought you would turn to _this_."

Eloise stared out at the sight of London, watching the flames rise up to the heavens. She felt the sadness bubbling up in her chest, feeling helpless as she stood on the edge of a large building and watched the city around her burn away.

"You went to _her _side; she is an Angel of _Massacre _Joker, why would you decide to choose her side? She doesn't keep promises and she is nothing but trouble."

"You didn't know what I had to endure" Joker hissed from behind her, she heard him step forward until he was standing on the building edge with her. A sneer stretching across his face as he watched the flames rise higher.

"I lost _everything_ to that accursed child and his _pet_. I wandered aimlessly all over the countryside with Doll only to be picked up by that accursed cult outside of Preston. They thought we were tainted by the devil purely by how we looked."

He turned his face to Eloise, who felt her hairs start to prickle at the base of her neck as she felt his gaze fall upon her.

"I never gave up on the fact that you died Eloise, but I never expected you to end up _living _with them and becoming nothing more than a loyal pet yourself. What do you consider yourself? The Dove of Peace? Always fighting against the evil that plagues the Earth?"

"NO!" Eloise snapped coldly.

Joker only chuckled at the brusque response, turning his gaze back over London.

"There is nothing you can do now Eloise" he almost seemed to say ominously, "You will watch everything burn, fall to the ground in ashes only to be born again. It almost seems to remind me the stories of the Phoenix."

As Joker watched the world burn beneath his feet, Eloise turned her eyes up to the black clouds swirling above her head. The very real possibility of the Arch Angels descending to Earth terrified her; she had no power against them.

If they deemed her a nuisance, they could turn her into ashes within seconds and her memory would forever be erased from the world she currently resided in. The fact that Angela had run amok in London only cemented the fact that the Angels were now involved.

"What do you think you are going to gain from this?" Eloise asked softly, turning her eyes down once more and clenching her hands by her sides.

"This is going to be borderline massacre if this angel gets her way. You paved her path right to Ciel and she will destroy everything in her way. Is this because you wanted to punish me for leaving you behind?"

Joker turned venomous at this remark.

"You loved _me_, Eloise, _not _Dagger. I feel more betrayed by the fact that you moved on so easily after you thought I had died. Not a thought tossed behind, you never thought I would never resurface. So you move on to _him_."

"I thought you had died" Eloise said coolly, refusing to make eye contact with the Ex-Ringmaster, "Dagger was the only one that I had to lean on. We helped each other through our darkest time and learnt more from each other. Since I had not been smothered by your shadow, Dagger saw me as who I truly was."

A silence fell between them and Eloise finished in a cold, yet soft voice. "I fell in love with Dagger because he let me do as I wanted and express how I felt. I thought you would have at least come to know two peoples grief, how they come together and connect. Obviously not."

"You've always known that I have been a selfish person," Joker hissed, "What made you think I had changed purely for you?"

Eloise didn't reply, clenching her hands into fists as she heard another roar echo out throughout London. The Demon hound had gone savage and Eloise knew that there was not much she could do, everything was falling to ruins around her and here she was…doing nothing.

There was another roar and Eloise sighed, feeling dread and fear knot in her chest. Abruptly, she extended her wings, ripping the fabric of her dress further.

Joker jumped back slightly in shock before yelling angrily, "Where do you think you are going?"

He stepped forward to grab her, only succeeding in pulling out several white feathers from her wing as the Half Angel sprung to the air.

"Eloise, get back here," the Cirque demanded, only for his words to be swept away on the acrid wind. Joker sputtered a couple of times as he inhaled some ash, his grey eyes sharp as he watched Eloise disappear behind the plumes of smoke drowning London.

* * *

><p>There were bodies littering the sidewalk, some were charred beyond recognition, some were burned, the smell of burning flesh searing Eloise's sinuses.<p>

Bodies had been knocked down in the street, trampled and left for dead; children were crying beside their fallen parents, helpless babies squalling for help in their mother's lifeless arms. Eloise was knocked aside by desperate civilians as she floated down the streets of a ruined city.

Civilians were so desperate to get away, their eyes full of fright didn't even register the fact that there was an Angel floating among them, wandering aimlessly towards the flames engulfing the buildings. There were no gasps of shock, just hysterical screams.

Pluto roared again and Eloise looked up to the point of one the tallest towers in London and saw the large grey Demon hound belching fire, his eyes void and lost.

Pluto was no longer the Demon hound that she had known, the beast too far gone to even recognise the people he had come to love.

Below at the tower, Eloise saw Bard and Finni.

The gardener was pleading with the Hound as if the dog could hear him and Bard hands were trembling as he put more tranquiliser darts in his rifle. He clicked the barrel closed and aimed it again as Eloise came out, almost shaking her head.

"E-Eloise" Finni gurgled as he turned his head to see who it was, his large azure eyes widened as he traced her wings and Bard almost dropped his loaded gun as he caught sight of her as well.

"Y-You're an Angel," he snapped in shock, the butt of his cigarette falling noiselessly to the charred cobblestone and Eloise only nodded mutely, her dull eyes looking up to Pluto as he continued to spew his flames.

"I kept it a secret" she seemed to whisper to herself, "I didn't want it to come to this, yet…here we are. We can lose our lives to this…all because of one _being_."

She landed delicately on one foot, fluttering her wings before tucking them against her shoulders and feeling the heat sear her skin.

Bard sighed, lowering the gun before looking to his companions, "We were hired to protect the Estate ya know" he drawled, "Do you think we even did the right thing in chasing the mongrel all the way out here?"

"The house itself isn't what I want to protect" Finni said desperately, his eyes tracing over Bard, Eloise before going back to Pluto.

"I want to protect the relationships in it, all the good times we had together…for us to have that, everyone _has _to live. **Including **Pluto."

Finni wiped his watering eyes and Eloise looked at him pitifully.

"Finni…" she started sadly, but before she could finish her sentence, she heard the scuffle of footsteps behind them.

She turned her head to see Mey-Rin come running up behind them with Ciel leading the way. Her large violet eyes widened further, when she saw the Earl and his name tumbled from her lips.

"Ciel" she choked up, "Y-You're alright, I thought something happened. W-Where's…" her eyes scanned the area behind them and caught no sight of the Demon Butler Sebastian.

"E-Eloise" the startled squawk came from the crimson haired maid. She lifted her wide rimmed glasses and her sharp, scarlet eyes surveyed Eloise's wings with bewilderment.

"Y-You were an Angel? H-How did you manage to…Master did you know about this? How is all of this possible?"

Eloise only shrugged, her mouth pursed. However, before she could even answer, Ciel's voice pierced the air, sharp and clear.

"Enough, yes I knew Eloise was an Angel and we leave it at that. Can you all not see Pluto ravaging the City? What are you doing about it?"

"Well I'm almost out of tranquiliser darts," Bard said, swivelling his suspicious eyes off Eloise and to Ciel. At that particular remark, Ciel frowned.

"You idiots. Why are you using tranquilisers?" he snapped at the cook, "You have a real bullets do you not?"

A silence fell about them for a brief second and Eloise could almost swear she heard Finni's lower lip trembling at the Earl's harsh words.

"A-are you telling us that we should shoot him?" Mey-Rin asked timidly, her hand coming up to grip the buttons on her blouse.

Ciel shook his head, sending everyone an individual glance before looking back to Pluto on top of the large building.

"Take a look at his eyes," he ordered, making everyone turn back and look at Pluto with large remorseful eyes of their own.

"His mind is already long gone, up there, that is not the Pluto you and I once knew. He is nothing but a Beast." Ciel looked back at everyone, his eyes solemn, "You all know what it's like do you not?" he asked, "Having your pride stripped away, to be left behind hollow. It's nothing but a tragic way to live."

Nothing was heard except the crackling of flames before Ciel took one-step back.

"I order you" he commanded, "Mey-Rin, Finni, Bard. _Kill _the Demonhound, in any way you can." His large eye scanned over Eloise, "You come with me," he demanded.

"**Yes sir" **came the unison response.

Eloise looked away guiltily as she saw the tears start to stream down her friends cheeks, Bard and Mey-Rin brandished their rifles and Finni bent down to the cracked sidewalk and picked a large slab of concrete and held it high above his head, all aiming right at the dog that they had come to love.

Eloise couldn't shed a tear for the Demon Hound, it was indeed sad, but she was a Cat and Pluto was nothing but a Dog. However, seeing her friends grieving is what made her feel the guilt that churned in her stomach.

Ciel turned away and Eloise spread her wings and followed after him, knowing that Finni, Bard and Mey-Rin would be brimming with questions and suspicions for her. That's if she came back alive that was.

Ciel raced down the cobblestone and down beside a washed out fountain, contaminated with ash was a horse there waiting for him.

He leapt onto its back and briefly paused, Eloise faltered in her flight as well when several loud bangs resounded through the empty streets and Pluto's pained roar followed shortly after. Eloise didn't dare turn back and Ciel only shook his head sadly before urging the horse into a gallop.

Eloise followed behind, keeping steady pace beside the horse before relaying everything to Ciel.

"Joker has returned" she began hesitantly, "He has teamed up with Angela and threatened to hurt Dagger. He is up to some awful things Ciel, you have to stop this before the danger becomes even more dangerous than this."

She kept steady, her wings splayed out either side of her and they almost seemed to be cloaking Ciel protectively, under feathers of pure white and ebony.

"You do not understand the danger that Angela has put us in" Eloise informed the Earl, "After you left for Paris, everything just seemed to fall apart. The Manor was attacked, Dagger was shot and then Joker returned, telling me that he had teamed up with Angela to take me out of the picture."

"Why would she take you out of the picture?" Ciel asked, looking up at her briefly, before Eloise took in a deep breath and sighed, "She sees me as a threat to what she plans to do. We both aren't very strong Angels, but she has held a certain resentment to all Angels because she is what we call a Cherub. She wants to exert some phenomenal power to show that she is superior. And to do that, she wants to exterminate the Humans and start again as a Deity, a God."

Eloise looked ahead and saw the Palace looming in front of them before finishing her last statement, "She can't do that with another Angel in the vicinity. But by her actions, she has bought the attention of the Arch Angels and I do not think we are going to last much longer before they bring their wrath upon us."

"For supposed Angels, your race is quite violent it seems" Ciel stated almost coldly and Eloise could do nothing but agree with him. He was completely right and it could only shine a new light on Eloise's species.

"You can sense her can't you?" Ciel asked after a moment and Eloise only nodded mutely. Her eyes traced he red sky, watching the flames rise higher as it consumed the city. Through the ashes and the smoke, she was able to see a split in the clouds.

Through the crack, she was able to see the twinkling stars and it only filled her with dread. She was beginning to feel frightened, she didn't know what to do or what to expect of her impending doom.

'_We're too late, they're coming.'_

"I want you to go and find her," Ciel said finally, his eyes turning back to the road in front of him. "Go find this Angel and delay her for as long as you can, we will fix this Eloise. Believe us."

As much as she wanted to believe him, Eloise knew that they wouldn't be able to do much against the Arch's. She didn't even know if she was going to get out of this alive.

"You got what you wanted," she said. Her foot scraped along the bridge as she glided down the black cobblestone towards the middle of the bridge.

"London is burning and you can stand there with a smug look on your face, what else do you intend to do?"

The other Angel turned around and Eloise saw the face of Ashe, his face turned up in a malicious smirk.

"So you had figured out that I can change my gender," he said with his underlying female voice, "I wouldn't have expected you to pick up on it so late. I sincerely thought you were better than that."

"I've had a sneaking suspicion for a while" Eloise said darkly, "I figured it out when you posed as the Queen's Butler. I knew of no _Ashe…_Because I already had the unfortunate experience in meeting the _actual _Butler. Let's just say we didn't get along very well."

"So you had actually met the Lord Grey" Ashe chuckled, brandishing his sword from his sheath and twirling it around nonchalantly, posing a display to try and look threatening, "Such a clever cookie Eloise, looks like I hadn't marked my place soon enough."

He turned back to the sight of London burning, "This is what our Father wanted" he stated looking quite proud of himself at the carnage he had created, "The humans are being wiped out and all that is left is fire, as and smoke."

"I think you got things quite mixed up" Eloise stated, summoning her ring of Holy Keys. "If I recall, Heaven was quite the opposite of death and flames. Or is that how you perceived it because you were just a mere Cherub."

Ashe turned back to her, his own violet eyes narrowed in anger and hate.

"You revel in the fact that I was once an Underling of you. Unable to progress through the Angelic Rank. You deemed it fit to make sure I remained a Cherub, laughed at me from above. You thought you were so much better than me."

"I never revelled in the fact that I was above you" Eloise snapped back, "I happened to work very hard to get given the title I did. But I grew bored and became more fascinated with the humans instead. If anything, the minute I touched Earthen soil, it made _you _the superior one over me."

"But the humans are so much more fascinating are they not?" Ashe smirked, his eyes still full of loathe, "They burn so well, even though the smell is acrid and burns the insides of your nose. Such pitiful beings, swayed so _easily_."

He stared back over the flames that consumed the city below, the orange glow reflecting in his eyes. "This" he stated, "This is magnificent, it worked out so _flawlessly_. Soon, everything will be cleansed and for the taking!"

Eloise could feel the keys shaking in her hand, from her rear sight, she saw a silvery feather fall from her wing and fall to the ground at her foot. Giving it a brief look, Eloise looked up to see a part in the swirling clouds above her.

It was silent and it happened so fast, if she hadn't looked at that feather she wouldn't have noticed it at all.

There was a blinding light and the sharp crack of lightning striking the earth. Eloise was flung clean across the top of the scarred building, her wings crushed by her body weight as she collided with something situated behind her.

With her head spinning and her ears ringing painfully, Eloise looked up to see Ashe's silhouette against the orange glow of the flames.

He stood in place, as if he were frozen to the spot. As she regained her balance, pulling herself up onto her arms. It was clear that Ashe was no longer with them, he was struck in place. The large polearm, still sizzling with lightning impaled through his chest and struck deep into the brickwork of the building.

The body slumped, the blood trickling down the golden polearm pooling at the base in a crimson puddle.

Eloise stared in horror, jumping violently when she felt movement at her back. She hadn't hit _something_, she had hit _someone_.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw the flaming red hair and the shadowed, tattooed face of Joker hovering over her. His stark eyes fixated on the sky above her, his mouth turned up in a grim sneer.

She was dreading to look up; she could feel the ice piercing her. The fear freezing her in place despite the close heat of the fires burning her flesh.

There was the sound of rushing wind, then the massive quake of powerful feet touching the mortal plane.

After a moment of silence, Eloise looked up.

A single tear falling from her eye, rolling down her cheek before falling silently to the ground beneath her.


	31. Lights Descend

The fires crackled dangerously, eating the building even as it began to sprinkle from the angry black clouds that had formed above them.

Angela's body slid further down the bloody weapon, the body slumping to the ground with a squelching thud.

It was going to be her inevitable fate; she wished it had hit her first. Wishing for the quick death that Angela had received, but it was not going to be that way in the slightest. Instead, through the light veil of rain as London turned to cinders, she stared at her greatest fear.

A large, golden figure towered in front of her. His giant white wings reaching high into the clouds, glowing ominously with the sheer amount of power he had within him. His toned, heavily muscled body rippled as he stepped towards her.

Behind his veil of golden hair, his dark, blue eyes staring her down with utter disgust, his mouth cemented into a solid line as his forehead creased in anger and disappointment.

This had been an understatement of the Angels intervening; the immense power Eloise had felt had not been of numerous angels coming to stop the onslaught of the human plane, but the power of _one _angel.

Arch Angel Michael.

Another tear rolled down her cheek, but she could feel the weight of her acceptance of what was to come. Struggling up, she fluttered her odd coloured wings, which made the Arch Angel recoil slightly. She felt Joker reposition himself behind her before staring back at the massive angel before her.

"I-I…" her voice trembled in fear, catching in her throat before swallowing hard, gathering enough courage to say her one sentence that she needed to say.

"I accept my fate Arch Angel."

Eloise bowed her head, her sight of her foot turning blurry as her eyes over flowed with tears. Her whole body trembled with the sheer fright. She could _feel _the Arch Angels power pulsing in the air around her and all she could do was pray to the Father of the Clouds for a quick death.

There was another rumble in the distance, then…

"Your problem lied with _that_ impaled on the weapon you know."

The smooth, dark voice manifested from the shadows and Eloise could only shudder, more tears dropping to the earth below her, not daring to look up. However, she felt some comfort in knowing that they at least _cared_.

"I'm not condoning what she was right, but it shouldn't equate to the evil the other one procured? Look at London burning beneath you. It was _ones _doing."

Eloise could hear the almost smirk in Sebastian's voice, but even he wouldn't dare stand up to an Arch Angel of Michael's stature. This was treading a fine line between life and death for all of them, Michael could _breathe _on Sebastian and his soul would rot beyond the point he couldn't even return from the pit from whence he came.

"I have accepted my fate" Eloise said clearly, her violet eyes still upon her foot. "Michael has seen it fit that my life shall be struck in the name of the Fathers of the sins I have committed. It was a reckless act that benefitted my selfish desires."

She let her hands sway at her side, "I have endangered the mortal's on the Human plane and broke my oaths I had taken for being a Guardian Angel. I failed and this is what I would most desire instead of facing of the devastation I have left in my wake."

"You can't Ellie…" another voice interjected and this made Eloise's lower lip tremble, it was getting more difficult and hearing his voice was splitting her heart in half.

"Please Mister" there was the sound of a solid body hitting the ground, "She has done her best to prevent _this _from happening. You aren't aware on how _hard _she tried, she is not a bad person. Please do not take her away from me."

As Eloise's tears came down harder, the rain intensified blanketing the people on the roof and beginning to smother the flames. The smoke twirling in the air above them.

"Back off Dagger" came Joker's hostile voice, breaking over the sound of the sound of the rain. "She belonged to me long before you, you pathetic whelpling. Get off your knees and step off the side of this building. I do not need to beg, there has been no fault except the fact that everything has been cleansed!"

There was the audible sound of a sword being unsheathed and Ciel's voice was crisp, tinged the hint of fear. "Sebastian!"

Clenching her fists several times, Eloise spun around, her tears sparkling in the glow of the dying fire. "Enough!" she cried, "Give me this final wish and please leave! This was inevitable for the actions I have done. There is nothing kinder than to give me this!"

Her heart broke at the sight of Dagger bowed at Michael's feet, no bigger than his boots. Joker standing behind her with Sebastian poised at the ready of Ciel's order, who in particular eyed her morosely at the fate that she was about to receive.

"I want to thank you all for giving me the time of my life" Eloise said quietly, "Thank you all for everything. My time has come for all of you to go ahead with your lives without me."

She stared into Dagger's desperate green eyes as he scrambled to his feet, his caramel hair in a dense disarray across his face.

"You can accomplish so much more without me, so I implore you. For all of your safety and your wellbeing. Let me go without a fight, it was my honour to serve despite the sins I committed. But I wouldn't have had it any other way."

The rain grew heavier and before anyone could say another word in protest, there was a loud booming voice that was louder than the thunder itself.

It boomed within their souls and everyone stiffened as the Arch Angel finally spoke. His voice filled with anger and bitterness.

"You believe I will grant you the opportunity of a quick death Angel?" he demanded at Eloise, who stared at him with fear and disbelief written across her face.

"You would have had it off far too easily for my liking," he continued, his wings trembling above them all. "I was sent here to stop the massacre of the human plane then to find out that one of my Guardian Angels had been _fraternizing _with the demons. I sincerely thought you were better."

Eloise hung her head sadly, as Michael's voice poisoned all their souls with the anger he held with them.

"I would have the utmost please in hanging you above my weapon and torturing you, giving you the ultimate slow death. However, I think of that and you would have had it off easily. Death…is ultimately what you want."

Michael sneered at her, "I don't think I will give you the pleasure of giving you that."

Eloise stiffened; Michael was not going to kill her.

There was a crack of lightning, a flash of blue illuminating the sky. They all looked up to see the lightning erupt from the clouds, piercing the Arch Angels gigantic wings. The surge of power running through each individual feather of his wings. Before he held out both of his massive hands.

There were two loud 'zaps' and Eloise could only stand there paralysed in the rain as she watched both, Joker and Dagger fall to the ground in unison. Their life slipping from their eyes as they both watched her as they hit the ground.

She couldn't even scream, the tears just fell and she looked back up at Michael, his voice burning her soul.

"Those were the _men _you loved. Now, as I pass my judgement. You can stand here and watch them die."

He spun Eloise around, forcing her to land on her foot. It promptly failed her and Eloise fell in a heap at Michael's feet, her different coloured wings reaching up towards the Arch Angels hands.

She felt him grip her divinity; her connections with the heavens and with an almighty wrench of her spirit, the Arch Angel ripped her angelic soul from within her body.

She had never felt a more painful sensation in all of her life, even when she decimated her leg to join the human plane. The screams escaped her then; she felt the cooper tang of blood in her mouth, the thickness of it escaping her nostrils and the sting of it escaping her eye sockets.

She was on fire, blood escaped every pore on her body and the life drained from her being. She felt the darkness of the world closing in on her, no longer protected by the divine light she had within herself.

"You are no longer an angel of light," Michael roared, "You desecrated your vows and your sacred duty, you are poisoned of filth and I shall condemn you to the pits of the Underworld, where you will associate yourself with the _scum _that reside down there. You will watch the world you love fall in ruins around you."

Eloise could barely see through the red taint in her eyes as Michael continued his verdict, "Your soul is corrupted by a demon, hence this black wing." He grabbed her ebony wing, picking her off the ground, almost in an attempt to pull the wings from her body.

"I cannot help that you retain your other half, the half soul of light. However, hear this; you will be pursued mercilessly by the creatures of darkness for the rest of your existence. The darkness shall eat you from the bones outwards and you will live your life in agony, _wishing _that I had given you death this very day."

Michael had cursed her and Eloise could lay in a heap, crying tears of blood as the rain thundered in her ears around her.

Finally, Michael's voice whispered in her ear, _"The gates of heaven are forever locked to you; you have been cursed with pain and darkness. Accept this fate worse than death, Nephilim."_

There was a massive vortex of wind, as the rain thundered down mixed with the wind. The flames of London diminished, leaving trails of smoke behind them. The city lay in ashen ruins and the rain kept it steady downpour as the Arch Angel withdrew his presence from the human plane.

Her blood felt like corrosive acid as she struggled to her hands, it burned her body and made her eyes sting. It coated every inch of her body, making her seem like a demon fresh out of hell screaming for its first meal.

Through the red haze, she dragged her pathetic self through the ash and mud of the decimated building and fell besides the haggard breathing of Dagger whose life was being pulled away from him.

Joker lay a little distance away, his eyes locked with Eloise as she hovered over the bedraggled form of Dagger.

Her body was failing beneath her, she started to shake, the loss of blood making her lose focus of her surroundings. She could faintly see Dagger's face and she could only moan pitifully as she felt her hand be taken by Dagger's own ice-cold hand.

She caressed him gently, leaving a streak of blood down his face before sensing Sebastian's presence appear before her.

"Angela got it off easy" she managed to whisper. "This is my punishment for betraying them all these years ago."

She raised her head to the skies, letting the rain soothe her stinging face and washing the blood from her eyes.

"I am forever cursed, cursed to live this pain. I do not even know if I want to survive with this."

Sebastian searched he bloodied face, his red eyes searching her violet. "The Arch Angel has denied you death Miss Eloise, you will be wishing for it for a long time before you start even trying to manage it. Being on the mortal plane only makes it worse."

Eloise felt her hand being gripped once more, before she reached out with her other hand and grabbed hold of Sebastian's ripped shirt in her weak grasp.

"Please save him" she implored, "Please do it, he doesn't deserve to die like this. Even I am banished; I know at least you two can look…"

Mid-sentence, Eloise felt her chest convulse, turning away and dragging her torso away, she felt the barrage of corrosive black sludge and blood leave her tract and her lungs. It splashed back up onto her already stained red gown and Eloise collapsed, hitting her head on the concrete.

"She isn't dying is she?" came Ciel's voice, for the first time, sounding concerned.

"She is not dying" Sebastian assured him, "She has had her spirit ripped from her body and cursed with darkness. The same darkness that I happen to be filled with, I however, was created with it. She…was not."

He got down to his knees, "It will be a long while until she can learn to even tolerate it. She will not be the Eloise we once knew. If she can fight the twisted evil growing inside her, she can be a person we can still care about. But…I found this doubtful."

Eloise, heard this and let a dry sob escape her, she didn't even have the strength to turn back around to face Sebastian and Ciel who were hovering over Dagger.

"I will have a better chance at fighting it if he's here with…"

She trailed off with a sigh; her muscles contracted painfully and Sebastian appeared in front of her, caressing the stiff brown strands away from her sequined face.

"I can only save one" he said softly, "Do you choose Mr McKinley?"

Eloise felt a stab in her heart as she thought of Joker dying beside her and here she was, begging Sebastian to save Dagger.

She truly was an awful person.

"Yes" she whispered.

"Very well."

Sebastian disappeared from view and Eloise stared at the crumpled body of Angela, feeling almost jealous at what she had been given.

Tears mixed with rain and blood streamed down her mottled face and Ciel's voice was almost hushed. "Is he…?"

"He will be alright" Sebastian said softly, "It's Miss Eloise that I'm worried about."

"What about?"

"He has passed."

There was a long pause and Eloise finally sighed, "It's all that matters now, I have had my hand dealt and this is what I am forced to live with until the end of my pitiful existence."

She finally gathered what little strength she had, rolling over and looking at the pair standing in front of her.

Both were drenched from the torrential downpour, bedraggled and Ciel looked like he was shivering despite standing beside the roaring fires that had been consuming the city only moments before.

She managed to give them both a weak smile, "It will be a long time before I can even manage to bring myself to stand up. I'll just have to accept it. I'll have to leave the human plane and stay…below for a while."

Her voice was reluctant as she mentioned the mere word of the Underworld and that she would have to live out her pitiful existence with the filth that resided down there.

Namely, a demon in the form of _Sebastian_.

Turning her face back up to the sky, Eloise saw a small gap in the clouds where she saw the distinct twinkle of stars behind the cloud cover. Smirking to herself one last time Eloise sighed, she let a tiny smile grace her face.

"_This is it for me" _she thought to herself silently, _"I'll see you guys….on the other side."_

Breathing in deep, Eloise closed her eyes to the sky above her. _'It is over…for now.'_

The darkness swirled above her, she felt her body go numb before she felt nothing at all. The darkness consuming what she had left of her former self.

It…would be her curse _forever_.

And at that, it was over.

* * *

><p><strong>I know this fell flat on its face, but I just didn't know where to progress. This was the only way I could think of it.<strong>

**I did have a prequel PLANNED, but yeah, I just don't feel the spark with these characters anymore :P But, it was fun while it lasted. You never know, I might get bored and write the second fic out. **

**Hope you enjoyed the ride. **


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